


Deal with the Devil

by HelloMercury



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-28 15:55:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 75,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21139280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HelloMercury/pseuds/HelloMercury
Summary: Karma offers to tutor you in hand to hand combat in exchange for you doing his homework. There's a lot of awkward sexual tension. You're trying to figure out what Karma's intentions are exactly. Meanwhile you're very busy trying to avoid any confrontation with your ex-classmate-turned-bully Asano.The characters are all aged up, think senior year High School. Warnings for a bit of violence and NSFW stuff :)





	1. Arrangements

Your arm was twisted painfully behind your back, a rubber knife pressed to your throat. Karma stood behind you, you didn't need to see his face to know he was grinning.

"So I win. Again. How many times does that make now?" he teased. You chose to ignore him and looked at the grass beneath your feet. Karma tugged on your arm and you grit your teeth at the pain that shot through your shoulder. 

"I asked you a question. It's rude to ignore me." the redhead's smooth voice echoed in your ear. 

"I didn't count..." you hated yourself for being unable to come up with a better comeback, but the way his body was pressed into your back rendered your wit useless. You felt his breath on your neck as he let out a mocking laugh.

"You didn't keep count, huh? I think you just don't want to admit you haven't won a single match against me. Do you like losing that much?" you internally cursed your sparring partner. Both of you knew he was better at any style of combat compared to you. He was intelligent, lean and had quick reflexes. You were no match for him, yet you were stuck with him for the rest of the lesson, entertaining the hope you might be able to beat him just once.

"If I'm so easy why don't you just find someone else to spar with?" you said, irritated. Karma released your arm, but still kept the knife pressed to your throat so you couldn't step away from him.

"Because you're much more fun. And besides, I'd beat most of our other classmates without doing so much as breaking a sweat." He was so cocky, but you had to admit he was right. He wasn't at the top of your class for nothing.

"That's it for today, class. Hurry up and get changed." Mister Karasuma's voice boomed from the other side of the field. You watched as the other students finished up their matches and started chatting with each other.

"Aren't you gonna let me go?" you asked Karma, who still had you pressed against him.

"Hmmm," he pretended to think for a moment, "nope." You heard him chuckle, the sound vibrating in his chest. The point of the knife was starting to get really uncomfortable. It was made of rubber, but it could still leave a nasty bruise if you knew how to wield it. 

"Karma, let go. I'm not in the mood for your stupid games right now, " you warned the boy. Karma sighed and dropped his arm so you could step away.

"Fine. I wasn't in the mood for your sour reactions anyway." He turned his back to you and walked into the direction of the lockerrooms, the knife clutched tightly in his fist. You shook your head, he could be so childish sometimes, though you had to admit losing every single match had indeed made you quite salty. 

You walked over to where Rio was waiting on you, her expression unreadable. When you got closer she cocked one eyebrow up.

"So...", she began, "you seemed pretty cozy, pressed up against each other back there." You shot an angry glare in the blonde's direction.

"Shut it. He was being annoying." Rio looked back at you, her face still smug. You were tempted to wipe that stupid grin off her face. It seemed like everyone was trying to mock you today. The two of you walked to the girls' lockerroom while chatting about what you were going to do at the weekend. 

P.E. had been today's last lesson, so you decided to stay behind and take a shower, the hot water would hopefully soothe your sore muscles. When you turned off the shower all the other girls had left already. You didn't mind, it meant you'd be able to walk to the train station by yourself and clear your mind for a bit.

You got dressed and gathered your things in your backpack. When you opened the door you were greeted by Karma leaning against the wall.

"Took you long enough," he muttered. You stared at him. Karma had been the last person you had expected to see. 

"Why are you still here?" you questioned. The redhead looked you up and down and nonchalantly tucked his hands into the pockets of his jacket. 

"You, of course. I have a proposal to make." You eyed him suspiciously. What could Karma possibly want to offer? You decided to hear him out.

"So, we both know you have never been able to defeat me during our fights. Your technique is terrible, you're too careful, and you're way too predictable. Your next move is pretty much written across your forehead. I think you'd benefit from a tutor." There was no mocking smile on his face, nothing indicated that this was just a cruel jape at your abilities. You were so used to questioning his intention that you didn't believe he actually wanted to tutor you.

"You want to tutor me? Forgive me if I sound rude, but what is there in it for you?" you tried to read Karma's expression, but you could very well have been trying to decipher a brick wall.

"I think it would be way more satisfying if you could really put up a fight when we're sparring. It's more fun to win when you know your opponent actually stood a chance against you. Besides, what if someone else attacks you, wouldn't you feel better if you knew how to handle the situation?" he sounded convincing. Truth to be told, you often worried your stronger classmates let you win so you wouldn't feel bad about yourself. If that was the case you'd be at a great disadvantage during a real fight.

"Alright, I see your point. I think it wouldn't be so bad to get in some extra practice, but I know for a fact you'll be expecting some kind of payment. What do you want?"

Karma took one of his hands out of his pocket and placed it on the wall, cutting off your escape route. He leaned down, his face mere inches from your own. The corners of his lips tugged up into a lazy smile.

"You." he said. You fought the urge to smack him across the face. "Seriously, what do you want?" you persisted.

The corners of Karma's mouth stretched further upwards, revealing a toothy grin. You caught him looking you over once more and you crossed your arms over your chest, feeling like his eyes were burning right through your uniform.

"What makes you think I'm joking?" he replied. His hands moved to grab hold of your hips and he gently pushed you until your back met the wall behind you. You wanted to say something, but his breath on your neck was way too distracting.

"You're right though. What I actually want is for you to write my English essays from now on. They're boring as fuck and you're quite good at writing them. That way we can help each other out. But if you want to pay me with your body I won't object either," he added with a sly smile.

Your face flushed in embarrassment at the suggestion and you quickly shook the image of him on top of you from your thoughts. Writing a couple essays wasn't so bad, it was your specialty after all, and you really needed to improve your combat skills.

"Deal." you said. Karma quirked an eyebrow.

"To paying me with your body?"

"To writing your essays, idiot." you were sure your face was the same shade of red as his hair, if not brighter. Karma removed his hands from your hips.

"We start tomorrow, so make sure you have nothing planned after school," Karma announced. He started walking away from you. Suddenly he halted in his step.

"Oh and one more thing... If you change your mind about the payment, just text me." he winked. You took off your shoe and threw it at Karma. He ducked and the shoe went flying over his head.

"Idiot." you murmered.


	2. First lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karma begins his tutoring. There's fighting (obviously), but I don't think it needs a warning. Sexual tension and teenage hormones ensue.

You peeked at the road trailing from your old rickety classrooms to the bottom of the mountain your school was situated on top of. You followed your classmates with your eyes until the last person had left the school building and the doors closed behind them.

“Twenty-four, twenty-five _aaand_ twenty-six. That’s all of them.” You stepped out from behind the large tree that hid you from sight. Karma gave you a blank stare and shook his head, following your example.

“Are you really that embarrassed to be seen with me?” he asked you. You swore you spotted a glint of disappointment in his eyes.

“What? Of course not, I just don’t want to give anyone the wrong idea.” Your words didn’t sound very convincing, but you were afraid of straight up telling him you indeed didn’t want to be seen together with him. The rumors about the two of you were already annoying enough as is, you didn’t want to give your classmates any more reasons to assume there was something going on between you.

“That’s just stupid. What if someone comes back and catches us? Won’t it be more difficult to explain why we were hiding behind this tree together than to just admit we were training?” he had a point.

You scoffed and started walking to the training grounds. Your training grounds were also where you had P.E. Most of the field was covered in small patches of grass, the schoolboard thought it a waste of money to hire someone to take care of the ground surrounding the class E building. There was a big circle where all of the grass had been trampled from the numerous laps your class had ran as a warming up.

You walked to the middle of the circle and bent down to do some stretches. You watched as Karma approached you at a sluggish pace. He joined you in your stretches as you tried to reach your toes from your standing position. 

“You’ve gotten quite flexible. I think that can work to your advantage.” Karma noted. You felt an inkling of pride bubble up in your stomach. “In more ways than one…” Your smile dropped. _Of course _he wouldn’t just compliment you without trying to make you feel uncomfortable.

You gave Karma a glare and continued stretching. You really hoped he was gonna take this seriously, otherwise you’d make sure his English grade would suffer dramatically. When you felt like you were good to go, you stood up and cracked you knuckles.

Karma raised himself from the ground and glanced you over. He let out a soft hum and took a defensive stance opposite of you. 

“Okay, so we’ll start with the basics. Try to get a hit in. I’ll block you, but I won’t go on the offensive.” You moved into position, your legs bent at the knees and fists at level with your chest. You shifted your weight from your left foot to your right, building up momentum. You leaned on your back leg and pulled your right arm as far back as it would go. 

Then you swung with all your might, throwing your body forward. You aimed your fist at Karma’s face, closing in on at a high speed, but he easily caught your hand with his own. Karma clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“I saw that coming the moment you took your stance. You took way too long to attack. I’m also disappointed you went for my face. You saw how my hands were already pretty high up, you should’ve looked for an opening, my sides for example. Let’s try that again.” 

Karma rolled his shoulder and returned to his stance. You looked at him and leaned your weight back. In one swift motion you charged your fist at his side, but he caught you by your wrist. 

“I _just _told you that your moves are too predictable. I literally told you that you should’ve gone for my sides, for fucks sake. Of course, you should have looked for a different opening, not the one I just informed you about. Again.” 

You felt like a kicked puppy. He was right, but he didn’t have to be such a dick about it. You turned your attention back in front you and intensely stared at the redhead. He had his fists close to his face, ready to counter your attack again. 

This time you repeated the exact same movement as before, but right before Karma could catch your wrist you twisted your torso and brought up your other arm, your fist meeting his bicep. There was not a lot of force behind the punch, but the important thing was that you had managed to hit him. 

Karma looked at you, the left corner of his mouth slightly turned up in a lopsided grin while he lifted his eyebrows. He opened his left fist and released your other hand.

“If you think a weak punch like that is enough to knock me over you’ve got to be an idiot.” Your smile fell. “But, you know, you hit me, so I guess this is a start.” The smile returned to your face. That was probably the nicest thing Karma had ever told you regarding your combat abilities. Yes, it was a start indeed. 

“Now, let’s try something different. This time I will be of the offense and you have to counter me.” You gave him a fearful look and prayed to God he would go easy on you. Karma didn’t waste any time as his fist came flying at your face. You brought up your arms and barely managed to block the punch. 

You grit your teeth at the contact, you were one hundred percent sure there would be a bruise tomorrow. You didn’t have any time to voice your complaint as Karma lifted his leg and landed a blow to your shin. This time you were unable to block him and pain sprouted from your leg.

“You fucker!” you yelled at Karma, who didn’t pay your words any mind and aimed his fist at your unprotected side. You doubled over at the impact, but Karma didn’t stop his assault. He delivered another punch to your shoulder. You managed to block him, but you were panicking way too much to actually fight back, using all of your energy to protect yourself. 

You were so focused on his fists that you didn’t notice his leg approaching yours, sweeping them out from under you. Your back connected with the ground and the impact knocked the breath out of you. 

Karma dropped on top of you, showing no signs of slowing his attack. You couldn’t think straight anymore, the pain in your back was overwhelming and you were gasping for air. You just wanted it to stop, so you did the only thing you could think of. 

You grabbed onto Karma’s arm and pulled it towards your face, clamping your teeth down on his skin. He tried to pull back his arm in a panic, but you refused to let go until your vision became blurry. You opened your mouth and felt Karma retreat his wrist. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he said, staring at you in disbelief. You just laid there, catching your breath until the lightheadedness started to fade. You brought your arms to your face and quickly wiped the spit from your mouth. Karma was still wearing a shocked expression. Suddenly he started to laugh. 

His deep chuckle got increasingly louder and higher in pitch until it was almost hysterical. He rolled over to lay next to you in the soft grass. You turned your face to look at him and offered him a sheepish smile while muttering an apology.

“No, no, you don’t have to apologize. I went pretty hard on you to see how you’d react, but I never expected you to _bite _me. Is that your kink or something?” he joked. You couldn’t help the grin stretching across your face.

“It is only fair. I don’t want to be the only one covered in marks tomorrow.” You retorted. Your body ached, but you were positive all of your bones were still intact. The spot on your forearm was turning an ugly shade of purple, but at least Karma had your teeth imprinted in his arm to match. 

“How about we take a little break?” Karma suggested. “I’ll show you how to trick your opponent into thinking you’re performing a different move afterwards. No more punches, I promise, unless you’re into that.” He added with a wink. The prospect of being subjected to his attacks again sent shivers down your spine and you quickly informed him you were _definitely not _into that. 

You walked back to the girls’ locker room to refresh yourself. Only when you looked into the mirror did you notice the redness in your face. You ran the faucet and scooped some of the water up in your hands, splashing it in your face. The colour faded a little, but there was still a light blush on your cheeks. 

You thanked God none of your classmates were around, you were surely a sight to behold. Flushed cheeks, disheveled clothes, your hair falling out of your ponytail and your body littered in bruises. Now _that _would have fueled some rumors. 

You returned to the field. Karma was still sprawled out on the grass. His P.E. uniform had shifted slightly and you tried to ignore the exposed strip of skin of his abdomen. You offered your hand to the redhead and pulled him to his feet. 

Luckily, he kept true to his word, not a single bruise was added to your collection. Karma showed you a couple different techniques to improve the speed of your punches and when you should alternate between being of the offense and defense. You felt like you were really learning some new things even Mister Karasuma hadn’t taught you.

“Now move your arm a bit further back.” Karma instructed. 

“Like this?” you pulled your wrist closer to your side. Karma shook his head and you pulled your wrist back a little more. 

“No, the angle is wrong, you’ll hurt your knuckles if you punch like that.” Karma took a step towards you and grabbed your elbow, gently pushing it even further. His nose was scrunched up in concentration as he corrected the angle of your wrist. 

You looked up at him and noticed how close his face was to yours. Karma felt your gaze on him and tilted his head to look in your eyes. Suddenly you became very self-aware. You averted your gaze, feeling your cheeks heat up again. 

“Something wrong?” Karma quipped; you could practically hear the grin in his voice. You felt the grip on your elbow tighten as he slowly pulled you into him. You put the hand he was holding on his chest, the other one hang clumsily at your side. 

“You’re standing really close.” You murmured awkwardly, still avoiding his eyes. Karma didn’t reply and you just stood there in silence, unsure of what to do, mixed emotions swimming through your head. It felt like an eternity passed before Karma finally pulled his fingers from your arm, but the ghost of his hand still lingered.

“I think that’s enough for today.” Karma said. “What did you think of our first lesson?” You focused on your heart thumping wildly inside of your chest and looked at the dark bruise on your arm. 

“Well,” you started, “you fucked me up pretty bad and I think I might have a concussion. Still, you’re quite a good teacher and I already feel like I’ve improved, even if it’s just a little.” 

“Please don’t think you’re there yet. You had to resort to _biting _me to counter my attack. That’s not really a technique you should be relying on during a fight. You’re still terrible, but maybe, just maybe, with my extraordinary teaching you might be able to defeat some of our weaker classmates in the future.” You decided to take it as a compliment.


	3. Working out

“Hey!” Kayano bounced over to where you were standing. “Do you know if Karma is still coming tonight? I haven’t told him at what time we’re meeting up.” It was Friday and to celebrate the weekend you were going out for drinks with Nagisa, Kayano and Karma.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. He just skipped class. I’ll text him we’re meeting at seven thirty.” You begrudgingly thought about how he was skipping English because, according to his words, he ‘trusted you to pay attention for him’ as you were doing his homework anyway.

Kayano flashed you a bright smile. “Thanks! I can always count on you. Besides, I think Karma prioritizes your texts over mine.” She added a wink and ran back to Nagisa, who was signalling for her to hurry up.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” you shouted after her, but she only shrugged, not even turning around. You watched the pair slowly disappear down the mountain trail and set off towards the training grounds.

When you approached the circle of grass you spotted Karma playing a game on his phone. The two of you had decided to split up to seem less conspicuous, even though Karma kept on emphasizing how unnecessary it was.

You took off your jacket, the P.E. uniform already present underneath. Karma’s outfit matched your own. He cracked his knuckles and for a moment you were afraid he was going to surprise you in an attack, but he dropped his hands back to his sides.

“You still have bruises all over your arms and judging by the way you just flinched when I cracked my knuckles you aren’t ready to get your ass beaten again, am I right?” You were surprised Karma even considered your physical condition. You gave him a suspicious look, what would you be doing if you weren’t going to fight? There was always a catch with Karma.

“So,” the redhead continued, “today I wanted to work on your strength. You look like the word ‘gym’ isn’t even part of your vocabulary. If I hadn’t witnessed you exercising during P.E. I would’ve sworn you just stayed in that dark cave you call your room all day.” You could feel your pride falter a little. You weren’t sure how many more of his nasty remarks you could endure before you’d slap him across the face.

“I bet you couldn’t even beat a toddler in rock, paper, scissors with those spaghetti noodles you call limbs.” You felt insulted, but you had to admit Karma was right. You were never one for physical exercise, trying to avoid it as much as you could. During P.E. you just cheated on your exercises whenever Mister Karasuma wasn’t looking. 

Karma announced you’d be starting with lunges and you stepped out, leaning your weight on your front leg. You could already feel the muscles in your legs scream as you were still sore from your last session. Luckily it was easy to hold the position as you had not been cheating on your flexibility exercises.

Karma circled you slowly, commenting on your posture to make sure you got the most out of the training. He stood behind you as you fought against the urge to drop to the ground.

“Am I still doing it right?” you waited for a confirmation, but Karma didn’t answer. He seemed a little too invested in your posture. You tilted your head to look at him. Karma was _definitely_ _not _looking at your face.

“Karma, what the hell are you looking at?” you yelled at him and hastily stood up, suddenly in the mood to fight despite your bruised body. Karma gave you an unapologetic smile and slipped his hands into his pockets.

“I was just making sure your posture was right. I wouldn’t forgive myself if I taught you the incorrect way to perform a lunge, what kind of teacher would I be if I did?” The signature grin stretched out on his features.

“Let’s do push-ups next.” Karma proposed. You agreed and got into a planking formation as Karma sat cross legged on your side. He didn’t comment on your posture, so you assumed he was either satisfied or just enjoying the view. Either way, you weren’t making the mistake of asking for confirmation again.

You bent your arms and lowered your body to the ground. Right before coming into contact with the ground you extended your arms again. You repeated the action, already feeling how you were straining yourself.

The next couple push-ups were even more difficult and the seventh one had you giving up. You let your body drop to the ground. You turned your head away from Karma, not needing to see the disappointment in his eyes.

“Tsk, is that all you’ve got?” came his sneer. “Again. You didn’t even get to ten, are you really this weak? Come on, this is ridiculous.” You focused your gaze on the grass below your body and pushed up again. 

You slowly sank down. One. You could do this! You replicated the motion thrice more, but this time you could already feel you weren’t going to make it back up. To spare your strength you decided to just give up and lay on the lush grass.

Karma walked around you and you didn’t want to seem childish by turning your head the other way. The look in his eyes hurt even more than his previous comment had. He loomed above you before slowly sinking through his knees to get to your level. 

“Pathetic.” Was all he said. You were close to tears. 

“Why don’t you just do it yourself then, Mister-everyone-who-is-weaker-than-me-is-worthless!” Hearing such a childish reply come out of your mouth made you feel even more pathetic. Karma turned his back to you and for a moment you thought he was going to leave, done with your antics.

However, he dropped to the ground and started doing push-ups. He lowered his body almost parallel to the ground and extended his arms again in a swift motion. He pushed his weight up again and again. You started counting. 

Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight. Jesus, was this guy even human? He was going at a ridiculously fast pace. Then he stopped when he was back to a planking position.

“Get on my back.” Karma said. You stared at him, mortified.

“Well? Get on!” it was a command. You didn’t want to defy him, scared he’d get angry and yell at you again, so you slowly sat down on his back. You grabbed onto his shoulders and Karma continued his exercise like it was nothing. You felt as if it was costing you more energy to hold on to him than it was costing him to perform the push-ups. 

He did six more before telling you to get off again. You sat across from him, still in complete disbelief and denial that he was so much more capable than you. Karma’s eyes met yours and his expression softened a little.

“Come on, don’t beat yourself up over this. I’ve been working out since before I came to the E-class and I know you haven’t properly worked out in, well, ever…” You felt a little bit better hearing his words. You knew Karma was right, but it still felt terrible to know he was so far ahead of you. You told yourself it was alright, you had other qualities, and you were training in order to get better at combat anyway. You felt motivated again. Funny how Karma could influence your mood so easily. 

“So, you just give up and drop to the ground whenever you feel tired. You really need to stop doing that. We’ll try to do ten push-ups in one sitting and to make sure you don’t cheat I’ve come up with a little solution.” Karma leaned backwards until his back was flat on the ground.

He motioned for you to get on top of him with his hand and you snorted. Karma did not seem amused. Was he being serious? You approached him and carefully placed one leg on either side of his body. Was this what he wanted? Was this really alright?

Karma smiled, but it was an encouraging smile, so much different from the mocking smile he had shown you countless times before. He grabbed your wrist and placed it above his shoulder, next to his head. You took the hint and put the other one on the other side of his head. 

You felt a little awkward straddling him, but it was nothing you hadn’t done before during your weekly self-defence lessons. You straightened your back and planked above him.

“Alright, you won’t have to lean down as far as before since you can’t cheat by resting your weight on me, but you’ll have to complete a rep of ten. Think you can handle that?” You nodded your head in confirmation, afraid to waste any energy on talking, and bent your arms. You made sure to keep enough distance between the two of you. 

You looked at Karma. The smug grin had returned to his face and you tried not to let it bother you, too concentrated on the exercise to feel embarrassed. You extended your arms again. The first push-up went surprisingly easy, probably due to the fact there was less distance to cover.

It was easy to get into the flow. Lower your body, push up again, repeat. You were surprised when you heard Karma’s smooth voice call out the number six. You were already doing better than you thought you were going to do.

Number seven and eight cost you a lot of concentration. You felt the muscles in your arms and stomach scream at you to stop, but you grit your teeth and ignored the burning feeling.

“Nine” Karma announced. You were almost there, come on, just one more! You lowered your body one last time, but you couldn’t get up anymore. You were locked in your position, arms bent, too tired to hold your weight much longer. You looked at Karma in desperation, so close to completing the set.

Karma’s brows knit together to indicate the gears in his brain turning. Then he started to slowly lift his head from the ground. You could feel his hot breath on your face and almost dropped down in surprise. 

“What are you doing?” You managed to stammer, still trembling to manage your position. 

“Motivating you.” Karma whispered. His breath smelt of coffee. You figured he must have gotten himself a cup while you were struggling to take notes during English. Karma tilted his face up a little further. You could feel the heat radiating from his skin, his face was merely an inch from your own.

Not really sure whether you wanted to just lean down and surprise him in a kiss or prove him you could do ten push-ups, you hesitated. You decided your pride was bigger than the urge to kiss the boy under you and a rush of adrenaline helped you to force your body up until your arms were fully extended.

You rolled off of Karma onto the grass next to him and threw your arms up into the air in victory. You laughed and looked at the redhead. 

“See, I knew you could do it. Are you ready for the next exercise?” You were horrified at his words. More exercises? You were pretty sure you’d die if you even tried to lift a single finger from the ground.

“I can’t. I’m so tired! Please, no more!” You didn’t care if you were begging him, enough was enough. However, Karma relentlessly shook his head. 

“One more. I promise it’s the last one. Prove to me you’re not a weakling.” You felt a little insulted, had you not just shown him? You were so tired, working out was definitely not your thing. Karma seemed lost in his thoughts for a second, contemplatively covering his chin with his hand. 

“How about we make this more interesting. What do you think of a bet? I bet you can’t do twenty-five continuous leg lifts. If you can, you win. If you can’t, I win.” You thought about it. You had exhausted your arms in the previous exercise, but you were confident you still had some energy in your legs. Then you thought about the catch.

“What happens if I win?” You carefully asked him, emphasizing the _I_.

“What do you want?” He replied. You didn’t have to think twice about that. 

“If I win, you have to let me style your hair for tonight. You can only change it after you get home!” You had been waiting for a chance to embarrass Karma in front of your friends as it was usually him who was embarrassing you. The boy had a talent for it.

He nodded in agreement. “And if I win…” Karma pretended to think for a moment, but he failed to suppress the excitement on his face, “you have to give Nagisa a lap dance on Monday. You can’t tell him anything about it until after you’re done. In fact, you can’t tell anyone.” You took a moment to think of the consequences.

If you gave Nagisa a lap dance during class all of your peers would see it too and make fun of you. What was worse was that Korosensei would see it too and he was really strict on PDA. You were positive he’d flip out. 

Or maybe you could do it during English. Miss Bitch probably wouldn’t stop you, in fact, she might even encourage it and cheer you on and Karma would have to attend the lesson in order for him to witness your performance. If you were going to suffer, at least Karma was going to suffer with you. 

“We have a deal.” You stated and reached out your hand to squeeze Karma’s as a sort of spoken agreement. You scooted closer to Karma and laid your back on the grass, grabbing onto his sock clad ankles. 

You lifted your legs until your body was at a ninety-degree angle. Karma grabbed your legs and gave them a soft push. You swung them down and halted right before they hit the ground. 

“Remember,” Karma warned, “touch the ground and you lose.” You nodded and brought your feet back up, keeping your legs in a straight line. The first ten went by in a breeze, effortlessly lifting your legs up and down. Then you felt Karma swing your legs with a little more force. When you reached number fifteen you called him out on it.

“Jesus, Karma, can you go even harder?” You complained.

“Go harder? For you always, baby.” You felt your face heat up at his suggestive words. It didn’t help that he was so handsome. His pretty face and athletic physique combined with his smooth comments sent your mind straight to the gutter.

“Shut it.” You grumbled in response, not willing to let something so stupid deter you from your goal. You held your ground and withstood the force with which Karma was throwing your legs. The end was so close, you were at twenty already! 

For a moment panic flashed through Karma’s eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. Ha! He didn’t think you’d make, but now you were going to prove him wrong. You shouted the numbers as you counted the last five leg lifts.

“Three! Two! One!” You felt ecstatic, momentarily forgetting the burning feeling in your legs. You sprang to your feet and for once it was _you_ who smiled tauntingly at Karma. He shrugged in defeat and handed you a water bottle. You eagerly gulped down its contents. 

“Race you to the locker rooms?” You felt like the grin that stretched from ear to ear was going to split your face in half. You didn’t wait for Karma’s reply as you ran ahead, the sudden rush of adrenaline coursing through your veins like a drug. 

Karma could bet his ass every single strand of his hair was going to be covered in colourful bows and braids tonight…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally haven't written fanfiction in years and I completely forgot how addictive it is! I'm still not sure whether I like this 'you' perspective, but it does make the scenarios easier to imagine, I guess. I'm sorry if the plot is building up at a slow pace, but I really want to work on some characterisation before I get deeper into the relationship stuff. Do you guys like reading about the training sessions or would you rather I actually wrote out the part where they go for drinks and Reader gets to do Karma's hair ? (me talking to the three people that read this, lol)


	4. Going out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of the last chapter. The reader goes out for some drinks with Karma, Nagisa and Kayano.

You put on your shoes, the casual sneakers a bit of an odd sight combined with your pantyhose and skirt, but you didn’t have any more space in your backpack this morning to fit your shoes. You had brought a separate outfit to change into as you didn’t want to go out with your friends in your school uniform.

As soon as you tied the laces on both of your shoes you stuffed your P.E. clothes and school uniform into the extra bag. You’d just have to dump these in your locker and then you were ready to go. 

You swung the bag over your shoulder and walked through the door. Karma was already waiting for you outside. The moment he noticed you his eyes scanned you up and down, nodding his head in approval.

“I prefer this outfit over your school uniform, makes you seem like a bit less of a prude. However, I’m convinced you’d look even better _without _the skirt.” You rolled your eyes at the comment and walked past him, brushing your shoulders in the process.

“I just have to go to my locker to get my other bag and then I’m all ready to go.” Karma quirked one eyebrow and slightly tilted his head.

“Go inside the school building? There’s bound to be a teacher there. If it’s Miss Bitch we might be able to sneak past unnoticed, but if it’s Mister Karasuma or that octopus they’ll definitely spot us.” You hadn’t considered getting caught, but you really needed your bag. You had your phone and wallet stored in the bag in your locker.

You decided to go in anyways. If there was a teacher you could just say you forgot to take your bag out of your locker. You snuck through the door, Karma following closely behind. To get to the lockers you had to pass the door to the teachers’ lounge.

The two of you slowly crept through the hallway, ducking to avoid being seen through the glass pane in the door to the teachers’ lounge. As you passed it you heard a female voice hum a melody through the small opening between the door and the wall.

You continued on your way, luckily your locker was one of the closest. You twisted the knob in the right combination, using your hand to shield it from Karma’s view, not willing to find out what pranks he’d play on you if he had access to your locker. The small metal door opened with a soft creak. You quickly pulled the bag from your shoulder and switched it with the one inside your locker.

As you closed the door Karma put his hand on your shoulder and squeezed it. You turned around to send him a questioning look, but then you realized the humming had stopped. Karma shot up and pulled you after him. You rounded the corner and hid behind the wall.

You heard the door opening, followed by soft footsteps. The person, presumably Miss Bitch, judging by the humming from earlier, was walking in your direction. You prayed she’d turn around or enter one of the classrooms in the hallway.

Another door was opened and the footsteps decreased in volume. Karma peaked around the corner and grabbed your arm again once he’d deemed it safe to move. He pulled you towards the front entrance while you anxiously glanced back at the hallway.

Karma was already pulling on the door handle of the front entrance as the door to the English classroom suddenly opened with a loud thud. Miss Bitch came out, trotting towards the pair of you as she had a complacent smile on her face.

“So… staying behind for some fun, aren’t we?” she quipped.

“Ah no, I forgot my bag in my locker.” You replied as you pointed to the bag hanging from your shoulder. Miss Bitch did not seem to take you seriously.

“You forgot your bag, so you brought _him _along to get it back?” She squinted her eyes at Karma, who had an unreadable expression on his face. Suddenly you realized Karma was still holding on to your wrist and you quickly pulled your arm away.

“Yeah, we take the same bus, so I tagged along.” He explained. Miss Bitch crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips.

“Did it take you more than an hour to reach the bus stop or did you have to call Karma to accompany you?” Suddenly you realized it was far past your last lesson, if you had taken the bus you would already have been home by now.

“We were working on a project for one of Korosensei’s classes at the library, which is why we were still nearby. We were just leaving; our bus takes off in fifteen minutes. See you next week Miss Bitch.” Karma’s quick thinking surprised you. His lie sounded so natural that you wondered how long he had practiced it.

You were sure Miss Bitch wouldn’t believe you anyway so you followed Karma through the door, waving at your teacher until the door closed behind you. You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding. Why were you so anxious about being seen together with Karma? You were friends after all.

Karma’s previous lie hadn’t been completely false as you took the bus to the city centre. Luckily, it was only a short trip as the bus was packed with people trying to get home. You got off on the far-right side of the shopping district as you still had at least an hour before you were supposed to meet up at a café at the other side of the shopping district.

You dragged Karma through the streets, easily finding your way to the nearest Claire’s. You entered the shop with a grin stretching from ear to ear while Karma’s eyes held nothing but dread. 

The aisles were filled with colourful bows, hair ties, clips and pins. There was so much to choose from, you didn’t really know where to start. Karma’s face showed signs of discomfort as two young girls giggled and pointed at him.

“Do we really have to do this? Come on, we can just forget about this, I’ll even buy you your drinks tonight, alright?” You thought about it. Drinks were expensive and it would be good for your bank account if you didn’t spend any more money, but you really wanted to humiliate Karma. Had he won the bet, no doubt he would have gone through with it.

You ignored his pleas and grabbed a couple of rainbow coloured scrunchies, adding them to the blue and pink clips in your hand. Lastly you decided on some shiny bobby pins and took all of the accessories to the counter. The girl who was checking out your articles was definitely judging the scrunchies, but you didn’t mind.

You swiped your card and collected all of the accessories in your bag. Karma was relieved to leave the store, breathing in the crisp air outside.

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever felt that out of place before. Those little girls just kept on pointing at me and giggling!” You were sure they were just admiring him, Karma’s bright red hair and handsome features always attracted attention, but you weren’t about to contribute to his ego.

“How about we go for a bite? We haven’t had anything to eat since lunchbreak and it’s almost six thirty already.” Karma suggested. You agreed and followed Karma through the doors of some fast-food chain. After all, you were poor students and couldn’t exactly afford a five-star restaurant.

Today being a Friday meant it was quite busy inside. You went to look for a table to sit at while Karma joined the queue so he could order your food. You spotted a couple leaving and quickly settled at the table they had previously occupied.

You took out your phone and scrolled through your text messages. Kayano had sent you a couple of pictures of different outfits to pick from. You told her you thought the grey skirt looked sexy on her and put down your phone. A few second later your screen lit up with Kayano’s name and a string of embarrassed emoticons, making you grin.

“What are you smiling about, some guy texting you?” Karma announced his entrance with the food, setting it down in front of you.

“You sound like my mom, and no, it was not a guy.” You objected. Karma sat down opposite of you and took off his jacket. He was wearing a black t-shirt underneath. It was plain, but you thought it looked really good on him. You figured you’d have felt very intimidated by Karma if you hadn’t already known him.

Karma caught you checking him out and you quickly picked up your drink, sipping it through the straw and choosing to gaze at your food instead. You both started eating and chatting about school for a bit.

“His face turned bright red, you should have seen it, it was hilarious!” Karma was excitedly telling you about how he pranked Korosensei by covering up the girls’ faces in his Playboy magazine with ugly drawings of your teacher’s own face.

“He was fuming and he definitely knew it was me, but he couldn’t call me out on it since teachers aren’t allowed to have porn magazines at school. Hey, you have something on your face.” You touched a finger to the corner of your mouth and felt some of the sauce you had put on your fries.

Karma picked up a napkin from the plastic tray and you could already feel your cheeks heat up at the thought of him wiping your face. However, he crumbled the napkin into a ball and threw it at you. It hit you square in the nose and then fell down to your plate.

Karma chuckled while you blankly stared at him, surprised by his childish antics. You picked up a different napkin, the one on your plate stained by your food, and wiped your mouth.

“Really? You threw a napkin at me? Why?” You were not amused.

“Because your face looks really funny when you get angry.” What a way to ruin the mood. You had actually felt quite at easy, chatting and joking with each other while you ate. The usual suspicion of Karma trying to prank you not even crossing your mind. You should have known better.

You finished the last of your food and cleaned up after yourselves. Karma held up your jacket so you could put your arms through the sleeves, but you snatched the piece of clothing from his hands, not trusting him.

The two of you walked outside and headed in the direction of the café, the sky gradually becoming darker as the sun was setting. After a bit of chitchatting you spotted an empty bench and tugged on Karma’s sleeve, urging him to sit down.

Karma begrudgingly sat down, already seeing through your intentions. You opened your bag and took out the accessories you had bought at Claire’s earlier this evening. You sat down next to Karma, turning him so you could face his back.

You didn’t have a hairbrush with you, so you used your hair to comb through the redhead’s hair, occasionally untangling a knot. You continued combing until you could effortlessly pull your fingers through his locks.

With a scrunchie in your mouth you started braiding the strands on the left side of his head. Unfortunately, Karma kept his hair quite short, so you could only form a small braid. You pulled the rainbow scrunchie from your mouth and tied the end of the braid. A few strands were sticking out at the end, creating a tiny ponytail.

You repeated the process on the other side of this head. Some of the hair at Karma’s neck was too short and fell out of the braids, so you used the baby blue clips to hold the hair in place. To finish up you threaded some of the bobby pins through the braids.

Karma turned around and you had to admit he looked completely ridiculous. You watched in glee as he took out his phone to check out his new hairdo.

“What the Hell is that?!” He exclaimed. You felt laughter bubble up in your throat, but forced yourself to stay quiet, a little scared of Karma’s reaction. He muttered something incoherent to himself and rose from his seated position, motioning for you to follow.

You went along with Karma as he steadily navigated through the streets, his pace quickening so to avoid as many people as possible. At first you were afraid he was going to stay angry throughout the duration of the walk, but he grabbed for your hand, lacing his fingers with yours, though still avoiding eye contact.

When Karma had first held your hand you had felt startled, but you quickly noticed it was more of a habit. At first you thought he was trying to get you to react in some kind of way, but you figured he probably did it so he wouldn’t have to worry about you not following along. Even though he was likely not doing it out of affection, you still thought it was cute.

You arrived at the café ten minutes early and spotted Nagisa already seated at the terrace. He was sitting at a table for four and anxiously looking around. When he spotted the two of you a relieved smile spread over his features.

You made your way to the table and sat down opposite of your blue haired friend, Karma taking up the spot next to you. Nagisa’s smile turned into a confused frown as he looked at Karma’s hair. He opened his mouth to comment on it, but quickly decided against it as the redhead sent a threatening glare his way.

There was an awkward tension as Nagisa avoided looking in Karma’s direction, choosing to compliment your outfit instead. You smiled back at him, appreciative of how he didn’t add any perverted comment, unlike Karma previously had.

“The waitress keeps looking at me. I was a little early and I didn’t order anything yet, because I wanted to wait on you guys. She came by three times already, asking if I was ready to order.” Nagisa voiced his desperation. You heard Karma chuckle.

“Why didn’t you just tell her you were waiting on your friends?” He asked. You saw Nagisa’s face fall, the poor guy probably hadn’t even considered that. Out of the corner of your eye you spotted a blonde waitress approaching your table.

You saw her look at Karma and for a brief moment jealousy flashed through your mind, but then you looked at the redhead’s hair and realised that your artwork was most likely the reason she was staring. You mentally scolded yourself for feeling jealous over a waitress staring at Karma.

Why did it have such an impact on you? You weren’t even dating, up until now you hadn’t even considered Karma as a boyfriend. Sure, you knew you were attracted to him physically, but even though you counted him your friend he could be such a dick to you sometimes. Not really boyfriend material.

You each ordered a drink, not wanting to put any more pressure on Nagisa, having already rejected the waitress thrice. Just as the waitress retreated inside the café a whirlwind of green and grey came rounding the corner.

Kayano came to a halt in front of the terrace and squinted her eyes until she spotted the three of you. She was donning the skirt you had approved earlier. Kayano walked closer, excitement in her steps, and took the chair next to Nagisa’s. She was breathing heavily; some green strands had come loose from her hair tie.

“I’m sooo sorry guys,” she started, “but I missed the bus because I decided to change at the last moment. Then I took the next bus, but we had some delay because of an accident on the road, and then I had to run and the-“

“Kayano, calm down. Breathe!” You interjected. The green haired girl stopped her rambling and took a moment to compose herself. A waiter arrived with all of your drinks and Kayano ordered one for herself.

“So, Karma… What happened to your hair?” Kayano addressed the elephant in the room.

“I lost a bet to this one here.” Karma pointed his thumb in your direction.

“A bet? Oooh, what kind of bet?” Your mind went blank. You didn’t want your classmates to know about the embarrassing session you’d had earlier today.

“Uh, it was a video game.” You lied. Unfortunately, you weren’t a natural liar and you felt a blush spreading across your face.

“Really? A video game? Did you hang out before we met up here?” Shit, you hadn’t thought this through at all. You were only digging yourself deeper. You and Karma didn’t hang out that often.

“Yeah, we took the same bus, so we played this game on our way here.” Luckily, Karma was here to save the day. You live pretty close to each other, so you usually take the same bus to school and the stop at the city centre was on the same trajectory.

“You beat _Karma_ at a video game? I’m impressed,” Kayano quipped, “you’ll have to show me the game. I want to know all about Karma’s weaknesses, I might need it one day…” You swore Kayano could be just as much of a demon as Karma sometimes.

Karma quickly came up with a lie about saving his battery and promised Kayano he’d text her the title of the game once he got home. You smiled at Karma in appreciation and he discreetly winked at you. When you averted your gaze, you caught Nagisa looking at the two of you, lifting up his left eyebrow. Fortunately, Nagisa kept his mouth shut.

Kayano was chatting on and on about her hectic ride and you felt your mind zone out. You tried to listen to her, but images of being so close to Karma during your session this afternoon kept popping up in your thoughts. You shook your head and took a sip of your beer. You hoped the alcohol would keep you from focussing on your worries.

You took another sip and suddenly realized everyone at the table was looking at you expectantly. There was an uncomfortable silence.

“Sorry, what did you say?” you asked.

“I asked you how your love life was coming along. Bring any hot guys into your bed lately?” Kayano joked.

“Wait, what? No, of course not. Where would I be finding hot guys to take home?” You half-jokingly replied. “I’m pure, unlike you, you filthy girl.” Kayano giggled, but Nagisa looked horrified, not picking up on your joking tone.

“Well,” Karma suddenly interjected, “are you sure about that? I’ve noticed you paying a lot of attention to this particular guy.” You gave him a confused look. Had you really been staring at someone? If you actually had a crush, Karma had picked up on it even before you had realized it.

“I think it’s quite serious. He goes to our school.” You wanted Karma to stop, but you were also interested in learning where this was going.

“He’s quite good looking. Tall and lean.” There were multiple guys at your school that fit that description. The three of you were listening intently to Karma.

“But what really defines him is his hair. He’s a redhead. I didn’t know gingers were your type.” Karma grinned at you. He was describing himself, that bastard. You were ready to punch his shoulder, your fist already raised above the table.

“And now, the funny thing is, he seems to be into you as well.” What? Did Karma like you? In that way? You felt so confused, why would he confess his feelings like that, was this another one of his jokes?

“Asano always follows you around, talking to you at any opportunity he gets.” Really? Asano? So that was the joke. You dropped your fist, feeling some relief. You were always poking fun at Asano when you were with Karma, your hatred towards him was something you had in common.

You used to be classmates in middle school. Though you and Asano never really became friends you didn’t dislike each other either. At one point you actually collaborated on a project together. You got a really nice grade for it and afterwards you and Asano had hung out a couple times.

In the end you stopped hanging out, your goals were just too different. Asano focused only on school and grades, while you chose to focus on your hobbies and hang out with your friends. After a while you were focusing a little too much on things outside of school, and this resulted in your grades gradually dropping.

When you were transferred to class E since the beginning of the year Asano suddenly paid you attention again, but not in the way you would’ve liked. He started off with a couple unsolicited remarks on your academic performances, but it soon progressed into actual bullying.

Whenever you coincidentally met, he’d have something mean to say to you. After a while he started commenting on your appearance as well. At some point your skirt had shifted and lifted a little higher than you usually wore it. Asano had picked up on it.

“Wow, are you really that desperate?” he had said, “Well, it doesn’t matter anyway, no guy would ever want to touch _that_.” You had tried not to let it get to you, but seeing as you were once on good terms with him it really hurt.

From then on it seemed your meetings were not as coincidental. He’d suddenly turn up out of the blue and stand in your way, not wanting to move aside. He’d caused you to miss your bus more than once. You didn’t try to defy him, with his dad being the principal and all, being suspended was the last thing you wanted.

He hadn’t been physical with you, never raising a hand, but you were afraid he might resort to violence in the future if you refused to react to his remarks. Luckily Karma was teaching you how to defend yourself. If Asano tried anything you were sure you’d kick his ass.

Looking back at your time in class A you were actually glad you had been transferred to class E. Your classmates were really nice and everyone got along smoothly. You raised your fist again and softly punched Karma’s shoulder, telling him how disgusted you felt even hearing him mention Asano’s name.

You chatted some more until the sky was completely dark. You paid for your drinks and bid your goodbyes to Nagisa and Kayano, as you and Karma were taking a different bus. The ride was short, but you enjoyed it nonetheless, comfortably pressed up against Karma’s shoulder in the cramped seat.

You got off at the same stop and turned to face Karma, this was where you’d be going in different directions as his house was in the wealthier part of the neighbourhood, where none of the houses touched each other.

A fond smile spread across your face as you looked up at the redhead. You had really enjoyed your evening. Karma took a step forward, leaning down. Suddenly you realized he wasn’t halting as his lips connected to yours. It lasted only a sweet second until he pulled away.

“Goodnight. I’ll see you on Monday.” Was all he said. Karma turned around and started walking away from you. You waited, frozen in your spot, until Karma was out of sight. You felt equal parts confused and happy. No, more happy than confused, you decided.

A warm feeling bubbled up inside of you. Maybe he was right, maybe you did have a little crush on a certain handsome redheaded classmate of yours. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally wasn't even planning on writing this part of the story, but I thought I'd give it a try and really surprised myself. It's 4K words, lmao what the hell happened? I don't even know anymore, although the plot progressed. Thanks for the support, I hope to post the next chapter soon.


	5. Unconventional Methods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karma tutors you in a different kind of lesson. A little bit of nsfw, though nothing too heavy, so be warned kids ;)

The red mark in the upper right corner of your paper shows a big ninety-two, a smiley beneath it. You grin as you had expected no less, you weren’t kidding when you told Karma you were good at English.

You glance over to the redhead, trying to discreetly take a look at his essay. No, actually your essay. As if he feels your eyes on him, he turns his head to look at you and holds up the paper. There, in the corner, is a big fat ninety-four.

You can feel your jaw drop in surprise. You worked really hard on your essay and then pretty much copied it, changing up the wording and a couple of details. You were sure you didn’t add anything special to the second essay, why does Karma’s essay have a higher grade than yours?

You can feel the anger start to boil in your stomach. This is so unfair, you put so much effort into your essay. Why, just why did the copy get a higher grade if they make exactly the same points?

Karma gives you a thumbs up, as if to rub it in even deeper. You snap your head to the other side; afraid your face will betray your anger and disappointment. Korosensei finishes handing out all of your essays and takes up his position in front of the blackboard.

“Class, I was very surprised at how much all of you have improved. You should feel proud of yourselves. What made me really happy was when I noticed how most of you were able to establish connections between the settings and the symbols in Edgar Allen Poe’s short stories.”

You try to drown out Korosensei’s voice as he walks everyone through the correct themes you should have gathered from the thesis, reading through the red marks on your essay. You missed out on some points for symbolism, though you wonder why, you had done excessive research after all.

“So, everyone was able to connect the clock in The Masque of the Red Death to the fear of death of the guests, but there was another symbolic setting that only one of you mentioned. Karma went into detail on how the colored chambers the prince runs through represent the different stages of life.”

Wait, what? You definitely put that in yours. No, you surely couldn’t have switched them around, right? English was the one subject you easily beat Karma at, he excelled in everything, but it just so happened that you were a literature geek.

You look at the paper on your desk. It has your name in the corner, but when you take a closer look at the thesis you notice that you had worded it quite differently from your usual writing style. Shit, so you had accidentally switched them around. You drop your forehead onto the desk with a dull thud. You can feel the regret settle into your mind as Korosensei continuously praises Karma’s resourcefulness.

Suddenly a finger pokes your cheek. You let out a grumble, not even needing to question who disturbed your wallowing in self-pity.

“What do you want?” You asked Karma.

“Hey, that’s no way to talk to your seatmate.” Seatmate. Had you really been reduced to just a ‘seatmate’? Apparently, that was all Karma thought of your relationship. He hadn’t even texted you during the weekend. You hadn’t expected him to call you or anything, but surely a short text message wasn’t too much to ask.

After your kiss on Friday evening you had felt ecstatic. The warm feeling in your stomach had followed you home and you could even feel its remnants the morning after. You remember fantasizing about your life with Karma as your boyfriend, but apparently the kiss hadn’t meant that much to him, or if it had he didn’t show any signs.

Korosensei wraps up the lesson and bides all of you goodbye as he flies off to some unknown destination, probably to spend his salary on exotic sweets. Your classmates are gathering up their belongings as you stay behind in your seat, having another session planned with Karma this afternoon.

Soon your peers have left and you and the redhead are all alone in the classroom. You rise from behind your desk; your P.E. uniform was still in your locker. You walk past Karma’s table and you feel him grab onto your skirt.

“What?” you bark at him.

“Jesus, what’s wrong with you today? What did I ever do to deserve this hostility? Oh, don’t tell me you’re jealous of my grade? You know, of the essay that you personally wrote for me.” He taunts you, though you are definitely not in the mood for his games.

“Stop it, just let me go so I can change. And don’t grab onto me so casually, it’s impolite.” You refute, but Karma only chuckles.

“When have you ever known me to be polite? You don’t need to change; I was planning on a little different sort of lesson for today. Combat is not the only way to defeat an enemy. Sit back down.” His commanding tone irritated you, but you obeyed nonetheless, taking up your seat next to the redhead once again.

“So… What have you planned for today?” your curiosity got the better of you.

“Well,” Karma started, “what other ways can you think of to defeat an enemy?” You raked through your mind, thinking back to all the techniques you had been taught throughout the first semester of the schoolyear.

“Uhm, I can think of outsmarting your enemy, maybe trapping them somewhere. Or, if you really need to take ou_t _your enemy, you could always use a gun? Or poison them. Did you want to teach me about the cruel potions you cook up for your pranks?” You list all the ways you could think of, but Karma shakes his head at every method you offer.

“Nope, try again.” There was only one thing you could think off, but surely, he wouldn’t want to practice _that._

“You don’t mean seduction, right?” You carefully guess. Karma’s eyes lit up. Bingo.

“Hey, it’s a pretty effective method if you’re up against a rich and horny dude, especially when you look as innocent as you do. It might even work on some women too if you’re lucky.” You snort at his words. Seduction was not meant for you.

First of all, it just didn’t feel right, flirting with some repulsive older guy because you need to kill him. You weren’t planning on actually becoming an assassin after your class would successfully eradicate your target.

Second of all, you felt like you weren’t up for the task. Would anyone really be interested enough in you for you to seduce them? You didn’t have the self-esteem for that. Karma could see the doubt in your eyes.

“Come on, don’t tell me you can’t seduce a guy. It’s not that difficult, us guys think with our dicks most of the time.” He tried to convince you.

“You just need to tell yourself that you’re sexy. Once you really start to see it, it will be as easy as stealing candy from a baby.” You took a deep breath. You couldn’t just convince yourself that easily. Sure, sometimes you felt sexy, when you were wearing nice clothes for example, but the feeling came and went in the moment. There was no on and off switch, though you wished you possessed one.

Karma stared at your frown, you had one hand placed tentatively over your mouth, doubt evident in your expression. He was impatient, feeling irritated that you had such low self-esteem. Could you really not see your own beauty? He’d just have to show you how attractive he thought you were.

You snap your head up, startled by the sound that left Karma’s mouth. Your name rolled of off his tongue in a husky whisper, followed by a deep groan. You stare at him, dumbfounded, while the corner of his mouth is turned up slightly, showing off his signature grin.

“What the fuck was that?” You whisper.

Karma throws his head back, letting out another guttural groan. You feel your face flush in embarrassment and cover your mouth with your hands, unsure of what to do. Karma pushes himself off of his chair, straightening out his back and shoulders. You swallow as you notice how he towers over you from where he’s standing.

Slowly he approaches you as if he were a predator stalking his prey. He sits down on top of your desk, his lower legs pressing against your knees as he bends forward, placing a hand on your arm. Karma gazes intensely into your eyes as he trails his fingers up your shoulder, resting his hand in the crook of your neck.

He leans further forwards, his face only a couple inches from yours. You inhale and the scent of his cologne fills your nose, it is not unpleasant. Karma exhales and his hot breath tickles your face. You let out a nervous giggle, feeling a little bit anxious, but mostly curious.

“I want you so bad. I need you.” His hoarse whisper has your heart beating so fast you are afraid it will explode right out of your chest. Karma is impossibly close; you can feel the heat radiating off of his skin. You don’t dare to look in his eyes, so you focus your gaze on his slightly parted lips, hyperaware of his breath washing over your face.

Karma closes the distance between the two of you, and for a short moment you feel his lips on your own. He pulls away way too fast for your liking. Goosebumps race over your skin as his hand tangles in your hair, twirling a strand around his finger.

“Be a good girl and take off your jacket for me.” Karma’s voice is gentle, but the look in his eyes is far from sweet. You find yourself obeying his command, feeling intoxicated. Your fingers shakily fumble with the only button you had done up to close the jacket over your blouse.

Once you manage to undo the button you shrug the jacket off your shoulders, pulling your arms from the sleeves so the item rests on the back of your seat. Karma trails his hand down your neck and over your collarbone. You inhale a sharp breath as his hand gets dangerously close to the top of your breasts.

You glance at Karma’s face and catch his eyes trailing up and down your body. He looks up and meets your gaze, a lazy grin plastered across his features. You’d be lying if you said it wasn’t the hottest damn thing you’d ever seen.

You’re not sure when you started leaning in, but suddenly all you can feel is his lips crushing against your own. You close your eyes, enjoying the tingling feeling that spreads all throughout your body as Karma’s lips move in tandem with your own.

Your teeth clash together as you straighten your legs, slowly standing up. You lift one of your legs and place it over Karma’s. Slowly, you trail your fingers up his arms, grabbing onto his shoulders to steady yourself as you lift your other leg onto the table as well.

You are the one straddling Karma, but he holds complete control over you. You can feel his muscular thighs flex underneath your own, the hand above your breasts traces upwards, following the curve of your shoulder and trailing down again until it rests on the small of your back.

Feeling confident you dart your tongue out, swiping it over Karma’s bottom lip. You feel him smile into your kiss as he slightly opens his mouth, allowing your tongue to slip inside. You are drunk on Karma’s taste as you revel in the feeling of your bodies pressed against each other, your hand pulling not so gently on his red locks.

Karma’s other hand reaches for the hem of your blouse and tugs it free from the confines of your skirt’s waistband. Goosebumps travel up your skin as his hand trails over the soft curve of your stomach, the muscles spasming at the contact.

His nails scrape your skin and you suppress a giggle. You can feel your blouse scrunching up as Karma’s hand travels further upwards. His touch distracts you from the kiss as you can feel yourself lose the control you had over the kiss, though you’re sure Karma was just letting you have your way.

The fabric of your blouse is pushed higher and higher until Karma’s hand rests over the cup of your bra, gently squeezing your breast. A moan slips from your mouth as his index finger grazes over your nipple. You reach for Karma’s shirt, fumbling with the buttons, but the feeling of him pushing his tongue into your mouth is making it hard to even focus on such a simple task.

You break apart from him, eyes still half-lidded in pleasure. You take a moment to catch your breath, wiping the saliva from your chin. You’re not sure whether it’s yours or his, but frankly you don’t care.

Karma’s gaze is focused on the hand wiping your mouth, so you decide to slowly trail your hand down your throat, throwing your head back. You breathe out through slightly parted lips, the sound more of a whine than a sigh.

You’re sure no guy has ever looked at you with so much need as Karma’s eyes hold and for the first time you don’t feel uncomfortable, you feel wanted. You feel attractive. Karma’s right, you _are _sexy.

You’re on the brink of losing your self-control, but you don’t really care anymore. All you want right now is Karma. Arousal clouds your mind and a surge of confidence has you saying things you’d otherwise never utter out loud.

“Take me.” You command Karma. The boy quirks up one eyebrow.

“Are you sure you can handle me, baby?” He whispers, the way he drawls out ‘baby’ has you feeling weak in the knees. You drink in Karma’s appearance; his lips are swollen from making out, his hair messy from your touch. Half of the buttons on his blouse have been undone.

You don’t think you’ve ever been so attracted to someone before. Karma’s all you can think about. You glance at the top of his chest peeking out from his clothes and you can’t wait to take off the rest of them.

“I’m sure of it.” You answer, uncaring of what he has in store for you. Right now you’d let him do whatever he wants to your body, as long as you can continue feeling his skin on yours. You lean in for another kiss, desperately seeking contact, but Karma angles his face so your lips land on his cheek instead.

“I always thought of you as a prude, but you’ve surely proven me wrong.” Karma retreats his hand from your breast and tugs down your blouse. His nimble fingers pry themselves under your thighs and you feel him lift you up in a swift motion.

He turns around with you in his arms and starts walking towards the teacher’s desk. Karma’s resolute steps make you feel as if you are weightless and you start to lean back, expecting him to lay you down, but the contact with the cold wood never happens.

Karma slowly lowers your body until your feet touch the ground. He releases you from his grip and you have to steady yourself with one hand on the desk, knees still weak. You look up at the redhead, confusion clear in your expression.

Karma brushes his hand through his hair, flattening the strands that wildly stick out. He reaches for his blouse and starts to do up the buttons you had managed to undo. When he’s finished closing up his blouse he walks back to your seat and picks up the jacket draped over the back of the chair.

He strolls back to where you’re still leaning on Korosensei’s desk and holds out the jacket. You don’t make a move to put your arms through the sleeves, so Karma impatiently shakes the jacket in front of your face.

“You should cover up, unless you want to treat the passersby to a show.” There is not even a hint of yearning in his voice. Karma’s cold tone shocks you.

“What? Do you want to continue this at your place? Or mine, if you’d prefer.” You offer, mentally scolding yourself for sounding a little desperate. Karma’s brows furrow as he thinks. You notice there’s absolutely no way anyone would be able to tell what just happened by looking at Karma.

His hair is almost as neat as it was before, the buttons on his blouse had been done up properly, save for one, but he never closes all of the buttons anyway. You, on the other hand, are a big mess. Your hair is tousled where Karma’s fingers tugged on it. The fabric of your blouse is crinkled from where it was previously bunched up, most of the buttons undone.

You’re sure you look like you just had a really fun time, and to be honest you did. So why did Karma suddenly want to leave? Was it something you said? Did you smell bad? You feel your self-esteem drop as you lose all of the confidence you’d gathered before.

Against your instinct you push your arms through the sleeves as Karma slides the jacket up your shoulders. His large hands turn you around and do up the zipper all the way to your collar. He jokingly pulls the hood of your jacket over your head, but you don’t share his sentiment and pull it back again.

“Do you… do you not want this anymore? Did I say something strange?” You’re afraid of being rejected, but you’re sure the doubt eating away at you will feel worse if left unattended.

“Hmmm?” Karma hums, “What are you talking about? I was teaching you how to seduce a guy and you’ve succeeded. What else is there to it?” You feel your heart shatter at his words. Was a tutoring session really all this meant to Karma?

You offer him a meak “okay” and turn around, strutting towards your bag in defeat. You bend down to pick it up, twisting your head back to take a quick glance at Karma. His attention was focused on the lit-up screen of his phone, it was as if you weren’t even there. You were sure this was going to be one hell of an awkward bus ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few people left comments on the last few chapters, thank you for that, I really appreciate it! It's fun to hear what you think of my writing, constructive criticism is always welcome too.


	6. Bully behaviour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You confide in your best friend in desperation. Unfortunately, you coincidentally meet up with someone you've been trying to avoid.

A high-pitched squeal comes from the blonde next to you as she fangirls over the movie leads about to kiss each other. You give her a side eyed glance and shake your head. You’re sure Rio has seen this movie more than fifteen times already, and unfortunately, so have you.

You focus your attention back on the lit-up screen of your phone. There are a couple of messages waiting for you. A couple of your classmates are arguing about something unimportant in your group chat, Maehara is trying to trick you into giving him the answers to one of Miss Bitch’s assignments and Kayano is spamming you with messages. She has been wanting to visit the new patisserie in town and try out all of their cakes.

You scroll through all of the messages again. Although you’re usually happy to receive your friends’ texts, you can’t help but feel slightly disappointed that none of the messages are from _him._

You’re startled as Rio lets out a strangled wail. You head shoots up and you’re just in time to see the male lead stick his tongue down the other protagonist’s throat. You feel a little repulsed and uncomfortable, trying to avoid being reminded of your session earlier this week.

“Oh my God, you have no idea how much I’m craving affection right now. I just want someone to passionately shove their tongue into my mouth until I can’t breathe anymore.” Rio lifts her arms and pretends to hold onto someone in front of her. She opens her mouth and her tongue darts out, making out with an invisible partner.

You scrunch your nose up in disgust and grab onto the pillow next to you, swinging it around and harshly smacking Rio in her face. When you remove the pillow, Rio juts out her bottom lip in a fake pout.

“You know what? I’ve been so depraved of physical affection that I’m probably gonna start showing signs of withdrawal soon. I can feel it in my bones.” You roll your eyes at her and look at your phone again, the little light in the corner announcing the receival of a new message. You’re about to open it, but Rio slaps your hand, the impact causes your phone to fly onto the empty spot on the couch next to you.

“Seriously! The last time I kissed someone was at Maehara’s party, when Kataoka dared me to kiss Isogai. But he’s way too proper. There wasn’t even any tongue, you can’t really call that a kiss. Besides, I was kinda drunk and I don’t really remember it that well, so it must not have made a lot of impact.” Rio puts a hand to her forehead and leans back into the pillows with a dramatic sigh, her eyes closed in self-pity.

“Well, at least both of us are sad little touch depraved perverts.” She grins. You lift up one of your eyebrows, a part of you wanting to tell her all about your adventures with Karma, but part of you is hesitant.

“Talk for yourself,” you reply, “Just because you can’t get laid doesn’t mean I can’t get some.” You feel a little bit of pride as Rio gawks at you. You’ve certainly piqued her interest. She picks up the remote and turns down the volume of the movie credits.

“What’s this? Who’d you fuck?” she inquires. You frown and give your friend a distasteful look while she wiggles her eyebrows at you. Rio sticks out her left hand, her thumb and index finger form a circle as she pretends to penetrate it with her right hand. You can’t help but snigger at her childish antics.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t sleep with anyone. It was just a kiss. And… maybe another kiss? And a little bit more, I guess?” You’re unsure of what to make of your own situation, unable to describe what exactly is going on between you and your redheaded classmate.

“Who’s the lucky guy? Or gal, I don’t judge.” Rio’s smile is knowing and you’re pretty sure you don’t even need to tell her. Keeping secrets from Rio is like trying to hide yourself by closing your eyes, in other words, stupid to even attempt.

“Okay, I’ll tell you,” you start, “but you can’t tell anyone.” Rio nods eagerly, rubbing her palms together in excitement. It’s been quite some time since you’ve dated anyone and she’s always encouraging you to just go out and have some fun with new people.

“If you break this holy oath, I swear to God, I _will _summon a demon to feast on your bones.” You threaten, although a smile is breaking through your serious façade. Rio holds out her hand and reaches for your pinky. She links your finger with hers and moves your hands up and down in an agreement.

“Sure, I swear on my life that I won’t breach the consensus of our covenant.” You decide to take it one step further and spit on your interlinked palms. Rio scrunches up her nose in disgust while you grin at her. She retreats her hand and wipes the spit on the pillow that you had previously smacked her with.

“You’re gross.”

“I know.” The grin on your face stretches even wider and Rio’s face contorts as she attempts to fight the smile threatening to spread over her features. She nods her head to urge you to continue.

“It’s Karma, we-“ You begin, but you don’t even get the chance to finish as the screech that leaves Rio’s mouth threatens to shatter your eardrums. You cringe visibly at the sound, but she doesn’t seem to care.

“I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! Give me _all _the details!” The blonde is practically jumping up and down at this point.

“Yeah, yeah, just let me finish them! So, last week Friday I went to get some drinks with Nagisa, Kayano and Karma. Karma’s house is pretty close to mine, so when we got off the bus we were still laughing and talking and then we kissed. Well, actually, he kissed me.” You ramble, pausing only afterwards to breathe.

“_Karma_ made the first move? Holy shit, that’s good, that’s really good. He _likes _you, he likes you a lot then!” From the excitement in her voice it almost sounds as if Rio was the one who had kissed your classmate.

“Like I said, he kissed me, but then afterwards he didn’t text or call me. I didn’t hear anything from him until the next Monday.” You feel a little ashamed to admit it and avert your eyes, not wanting to recall the feeling of rejection. Rio purses her lips in thought.

“Did you try to text him? Maybe he just isn’t sure whether you were into it too.” You think about it. Karma made the first move and he only kissed you for a very short second. You didn’t have the time to properly react to it, but you were sure there had been a smile on your face and excitement gleaming in your eyes.

You hadn’t even considered texting Karma first, but maybe that was the wrong move. Maybe your willingness and affection hadn’t been that obvious after all and maybe he had hoped for you to confirm his feelings first. After all, he was not really the type to state his feelings clearly, he toyed around with emotions quite a lot.

You were starting to doubt yourself. Should you have made it clear that you like him? No, Karma is not that kind of guy. He always gets what he wants, you previously established he was not the type to shy away from voicing his wants. He isn’t the sort to avoid stooping low to accomplish his goals, sometimes using rather unorthodox methods.

“Hmm, I don’t think that’s it. I just think it’s strange he pretended like nothing happened. Yesterday we made out again and it was really nice, but then he just stopped me?” You try to keep a straight face, but the wavering in your voice betrays your disappointment.

“I’m so confused.” You suddenly feel like you’re about to cry. “One moment I feel like he’s super into me, but the next second he’s coldly rejecting me. I never truly understand his intentions” Rio’s eyebrows scrunch up. You’re not sure whether it is in pity or in anger and you feel like you just might start to cry. The colour from your knuckles is drained as you tightly grip the pillow on your right, needing something to channel your frustration on.

“Let me guess, he didn’t text you afterwards either?” Rio sounds angry and you’re irresolute on whether you should confess why exactly you made out with Karma yesterday. The reason might change the whole situation and you can’t help but want to defend the boy a little. You decide against it and just nod your head in confirmation.

“Wow, that’s kind of a dick move, but maybe he has a good reason,” Rio argues, “maybe he’ll text you this weekend. I’d advise you to just wait this one out and if he doesn’t… you can always confront him on Monday again. You know, confess your feelings for him and ask him for clarification on his part.” A part of you is glad Rio wants to believe in the good in Karma.

“If he’s not taking your feelings seriously, you should just ignore his sorry advances and get over him. I know it sounds harsh, but it’s probably for the best. On the bright side, if he does feel the same way you can finally get laid!” Rio ends her sentence with a wink.

You scoff at her and playfully elbow her in the side, earning you a giggle and another wink. There is a silence and you stare at the television. The flat screen displays similar movie choices and you contemplate starting another, but your mind is filled with Karma and you don’t think you can gather up enough concentration to finish another movie.

You glance over to your phone, the screen lights up as yet another three messages flood in. The number in the corner displays the time and you figure you should head home as to not worry your parents; the streets can be dangerous at night.

Rio waves you off from behind the window as you make your way to the nearest bus stop. Luckily, it’s only a short ten-minute walk and according to the trajectory on your phone you won’t have to wait long until the bus arrives.

You reach the bus stop and spot two figures waiting on the bench. One of them is a middle-aged woman in a long brown coat. She’s on the phone, her left hand is gesturing wildly with a cigarette clenched between her fingers.

The other figure is hunched over, but it’s impossible to overlook that familiar mop of red hair; it’s _him_. You start to turn around and consider your choices. You could go for a short walk and wait for the next bus, the twenty-minute wait might be worth it, or you could just go back to Rio’s place and watch another movie with her. You’re sure she’d let you stay over.

The sound of your name sends chills down your back and you shudder. Slowly you turn around, eyes wide like a deer caught in the headlights. Asano holds up his hand and motions for you to join him.

You aren’t wearing your earbuds as you’d lost them at home this morning and didn’t have the time to look for them. Pretending not to have heard Asano would be really rude and likely cause him to get annoyed. You look at the woman who’s still on the phone and figure Asano will keep himself in check as long as there are strangers around.

You mutter a soft greeting and awkwardly stand opposite of him, keeping enough distance between the two of you. Asano gives you an uncharacteristically gentle smile and turns off the phone in his hand, pocketing it.

“Long time, no see!” His voice is enthusiastic as he asks you what you’re doing here at the bus stop. You fear Asano might be feigning his kindness and regard him with a suspicious look, though you’re glad he’s not insulting you.

“I was just at a friend’s house and now I’m going back home again, I don’t want to worry my parents, you know?” Your heart is thrumming in your chest and you feel as though you’re committing a crime. Trusting the redhead is going against all of your instincts.

“What a coincidence,” Asano says, “I was hanging out with some friends as well.” You quickly look around; suddenly afraid his so-called friends might still be somewhere near. Luckily, nobody is here except for the two of you and the agitated woman on the phone.

You’ve never seen Asano or any of his friends around this neighborhood, even though you’ve been over at Rio’s place hundreds of times before, as you had already been friends even before you were transferred into the E class.

A small voice is irking the back of your mind as you try to tell yourself you know next to nothing about Asano’s personal life. He literally has no reason to lie to you right now, his friends aren’t around to impress and you don’t recall having done anything specifically aggravating, other than annoying Asano by simply existing of course.

You breathe in the crisp evening air and try to stop thinking of all the reasons your ex-classmate could have to suddenly attack. Still, you can’t help but doubt his story.

From the corner of your eye you spot the bus approaching. Asano straightens his back and takes up the space next to you. The bus comes to a halt in front of you and there is a hissing sound before the doors open, a gust of warm air welcoming you.

The agitated woman doesn’t hang up her call and ignores the bus driver as she enters the vehicle. You feel a hand on your shoulder as Asano urges you forwards.

“Ladies first.” Is his explanation as he waits until you’ve entered behind the woman. Asano’s gallant behavior is unusual and you don’t trust his smile even for a single second, you’re no fool.

You follow the woman in front of you and try to discreetly drop your bag on the seat right behind her, the aisle closest to the exit. However, before you get the chance to shrug the bag from your shoulder, Asano grabs for your wrist and pulls you further down the aisle after him.

“There’s more space in the back.” He says. You reply with an “okay” in a small voice, but you’re not completely sure why you’re agreeing to go with him as the bus is practically empty. There are almost no other people in the bus and there is enough space to seat the two of you where you preferred to sit.

Anxiety starts to settle in your stomach as Asano pushes on your shoulder to make you sit down almost at the back of the bus. He slides in next to you and you feel uneasy all pressed up against his arm.

“Is that a new skirt?” Asano asks, gesturing to the garment. You bought it a while ago, but you sort of forgot about until you found it under a pile of new clothes this morning. The price tag was still attached.

“Well, actually, I bou-“ you start, but you don’t get to finish as Asano interrupts you, a glint of malice in his eyes.

“You look like a whore in that skirt. Is that the only way you can get people to notice you? That’s absolutely repulsive.” Your suspicions are confirmed as he snarls at you. The small talk was only a distraction to lull you into a false sense of security and get you to comply with his directions.

Choosing to ignore the insult you look out of the window, focusing on the road, but suddenly you feel Asano’s hand on your leg. His index finger disappears underneath the fabric of your skirt. You turn around in horror and angrily push the uninvited finger from your skirt, placing his hand back in his lap.

“Don’t. You. Dare.” You hiss. Asano’s laughter mocks you.

“Aw, come on. If you dress like a whore, you should act accordingly.” You blink back the tears of frustration threatening to form in the corners of your eyes, feeling agitated at how easily Asano manages to humiliate you.

You try to stand up, attempting to go and sit anywhere but next to him, but Asano pulls you back by the sleeve of your coat. You have to grab onto his shoulder to steady yourself from the force of his tug.

“See? You’re all over me already, isn’t that disgusting, throwing yourself at any and every man that walks into your field of vision.” You immediately pull your hand back and sit down again, rewarding Asano with the most hateful glare you can muster. He doesn’t seem impressed.

“Let me out, I don’t want to sit with you anymore.” You command. Asano doesn’t budge and reaches for your bag instead. You grab it before he manages to lay his fingers on it and hug it close to your chest, the zipper facing your body, unwilling to take any chances.

“What? Scared I’ll see something you’re not supposed to have? Don’t worry though, I don’t do drugs, you can keep your pills to yourself.” You look at him, a bewildered expression on your features.

“A slut _and _a junkee, who would’ve thought.” You feel anger settle into the pit of your stomach. He can call you a whore however much he likes, but accusing you of using drugs infuriates you. It could seriously do a lot of damage to your reputation, especially considering college applications at the end of the year.

“I’m not a junkee!” You retaliate, immediately regretting answering to his insult. Invisible wires ensnare your body as you feel like the pressure is making it harder to breathe.

“Oh really? Then you don’t have anything to hide, right? Come on, hand me the bag.” Asano stretches out his hand expectantly. You straighten your shoulders and shift around so you’re directly facing him. You lean away from him until your back is pressed against the glass window, arms protectively wound around your precious belongings.

“I don’t need to prove anything to you. It’s my bag, so hands off.” You snarl.

“You were never this feisty in class A. I guess you finally developed some personality when your intelligence started to decline, though I’m not completely sure anger issues count as a personality trait.” His words are accompanied by a smile that makes your blood run cold.

You turn your head around, ignoring Asano and focusing your attention on the darkening sky outside of the window, still clutching your bag in your arms. Suddenly, Asano leans closer, his breath hot on your neck.

“It’s rude to ignore your company, someone ought to discipline you like the bitch you are.” He whispers. His words infuriate you, but you manage to keep your anger inside as you press the red button in front of you to signal for the bus to stop.

Your stop is actually the one after this, but you’d rather walk home than spend any more time with Asano. You get up and Asano bars the opening between the aisles with his arm. You don’t care to stop and force your way through, wrenching his arm from the seat in front of him with as much strength as your adrenaline allows.

You stand in front of the exit and dare to glance back. Luckily, Asano is still perched atop the seat, his accomplished smile sending chills down your back. You turn back around and don’t look back until the doors of the bus have closed behind you again.

The doors close with a hiss, no footsteps are audible other than your own. The engine revs and the bus speeds up, passing you. You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding as the bus moves further away until it disappears from view.

A small droplet of water falls onto your forehead and trails down your nose. It’s raining softly and for once you don’t mind, thinking to yourself that you’d prefer even the heaviest storm to Asano’s bullying. For once, you welcome the cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, would you look at this, I reached 200 reads! It might not be that much, but it's really motivating to see that people are enjoying this story and leaving comments. Thanks y'all :)
> 
> \- By the way, do the paragraphs look okay? I don't write my chapters in AO3, but I copy them from my documents and whenever I do there's a double enter between the paragraphs. I usually delete the extra enter, but maybe it's somehow displayed differently?


	7. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korosensei pairs your class up for a project, but lady luck doesn't seem to be on your side.

It’s Tuesday, but it’s the first class of the week you’re attending. After walking home through the rain last Friday, you came down with a cold. Luckily, the worst of it has already passed, no more runny noses and boxes of tissues, though your head still feels a little heavy.

Missing class on Monday gave you even more time to sulk over the fact Karma didn’t text you over the weekend again. You had been constantly checking your phone for any new messages, too anxious to make the first move yourself.

You steal a glance at your seatmate from the corner of your eye. You keep your head perfectly still, refusing to draw his attention to your figure. Karma seems focused on Korosensei, who is in the midst of handing out folded paper slips. 

As if he is suddenly aware of your eyes boring a hole into his skull, he turns around to meet your gaze. There’s a grin on his face as he lifts up the flimsy paper and waves it in your direction.

“Karma, please refrain from touching the paper until I give the signal.” Korosensei’s voice breaks through the hushed whispering, “I haven’t even explained what they’re for.” Your teacher’s back is facing the two of you as he uses his speed to hand out the last few slips of paper.

You stare questioningly at the slip you’ve been dealt. The paper is thin, but there’s no way to look through it, no ink bleeds through to indicate it’s meaning. In the meanwhile, Korosensei has returned to the front of the classroom. One of his tentacles slashes white stripes of chalk across the blackboard.

“So, class.” two of the yellow tentacles slap together in excitement. There is a wide grin on your teacher’s face, but his skin hasn’t changed any color to indicate a change in mood. He points at the slip of paper on Nagisa’s desk.

“You might be wondering why you’ve all just received these notes. Inside of them are numbers, they each correspond to someone else’s number. If two people have the same number it means you’ve been paired together to come up with an activity for the trip.”

The trip. You’d completely forgotten about it. All the students in your year will be going on a fieldtrip for three days. The third day of the schedule has been left blank and each class gets to choose how they’ll fill out this time.

“Every pair will come up with an activity. You’ll pitch your ideas and at the end we’ll have a vote. Depending on how much time your activities take up, we’ll decide how many of the chosen activities we’ll actually schedule. You can open the notes now, the pairing is completely random.” The grin on Korosensei’s face widens and you swear you spot a hint of pink on his cheeks.

You grab the slip of paper and pull two of the folded corners apart, revealing a tiny red seven in the middle. Rio turns around in her chair and holds up her piece of paper. You squint your eyes and make out a red eight. You shake your head and mouth a seven back to her.

Your eyes focus on Kayano, she’s frantically looking around for the other number two until Nagisa taps her on the shoulder. He holds up an unreadable number, but the smile spreading across Kayano’s cheeks tells you all you need to know.

Korosensei said the pairings were at random, but even an idiot could see the pairings are based on romantic interests. The people Korosensei thinks would look good together have conveniently formed couples. In that case you’re pretty confident in the identity of your partner.

You turn you head to your right with mixed feelings. Karma has one elbow on his desk, his chin rests on the back of his hand. The piece of paper in his free hand confirms your suspicions, there is a red seven where the note had previously been folded. Great.

“Looks like we’re partners, huh.” You say, an uncomfortable smile on your face. You should be grateful for your partner, Karma is intelligent and knows how to have some fun, but you know you’ll probably get to talking about your little situation and you’re definitely not looking forward to it. 

Karma scoots his chair a little closer to yours. There is a gentle smile on his face, if he’s filled with the same doubts that cloud your mind, he surely knows how to hide them. You avoid his eyes and look at your hands, fidgeting with the hem of your shirt.

“Are you nervous?” Karma asks.

“No!” You quickly defend. “Why would I be nervous?” You feel heat rising to your cheeks. You just seem unable to control your outbursts when you’re around him. He’s right though, you are nervous. The redhead tilts his head in amusement.

“Whatever you say,” he replies, “how about we go and grab a coffee? We can do some brainstorming at the café.” That’s actually not a bad idea. You’re a little reluctant to spend more time with Karma, his face reminds you of the way he coldly rejected you after almost making you lose all self-control. There’s still a pang in your chest when you recall the emotions you felt.

Although another part of you grows warm at the idea of Karma wanting to spend time together. You don’t want to give yourself any false hope, but if Karma was completely uninterested in you, he would’ve probably suggested coming up with ideas separately, right?

The two of you end up visiting a coffeeshop downtown. You’re seated on a bench near the window, opposite of you sits Karma, a small decorated table inbetween you. There are more tables in the row next to yours, but almost all of them are empty.  
You sip on your sugary beverage, it is sickeningly sweet, but you drink it nonetheless as Karma paid for it. You had chosen your seats while he ordered your coffees, he said he was going to pick you the perfect drink. Hopefully Karma doesn’t think of you as overly sweetened.

There is a notebook in front of you, some ideas have already been jotted down. You chew on your paper cup as Karma suggest some more activities. His ideas are crude and mostly involve humiliating your other classmates, though you can’t help but find his enthusiasm endearing.

You watch as he pulls his fingers through his red locks, the tip of the pen between his teeth in concentration. Karma’s eyes are fixated on the paper in front of him as he tries to decide on the perfect way to prank your classmates.

“What do you think?” Karma asks your opinion on one of his plans. Truthfully, all you’ve been thinking about is how attractive he looks when he’s deep in thought, but there’s no way you’re going to let him know that. 

“Hmm, maybe we should try to come up with something that doesn’t involve Nagisa in drag? We’ve forced him into that enough times already.” You start. “It’s almost as if you’ve got a thing for Nagisa in women’s clothes.” You jest. Karma snorts, one eyebrow lifted up.

“Yeah sure. Keep on dreaming, darling. I’ll be back in a second.” Karma stands up and walks in the direction of the bathrooms. You shake your head and focus your attention back on the notebook. 

You read through all of Karma’s awful ideas and silently thank Korosensei for pairing you up with Karma, you’re not sure if you could’ve handled these pranks if Karma hadn’t let you in on them. At least now you know what he’s capable of.

As you skim through the notes, you spot a small scribble in the bottom left corner of the page. After thoroughly studying the fiddly lines you decide it is a blue octopus with crosses where the eyes should be. Luckily for Karma you don’t get graded on your drawing skills.

You continue adding some details to your plan of organizing a scavenger hunt, it was the best thing you’d managed to come up with so far, even Karma had been a fan of it. Suddenly you hear footsteps approaching, but you’re too busy documenting your genius concepts to acknowledge the newcomers.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” A sneering voice catches you off guard and you snap your head up in surprise. In front of you are the so called Big Five. They are the smartest students in class A, led by Asano in first place.

The one you know as Ren Sakakibara takes Karma’s empty seat as the others sit down on the bench next to you. It is impossible to get out of your spot without having to climb over at least two of them as you’re seated in the corner, next to the wall.

One of the guys with glasses, you believe his name is Teppei Arakiri, sits way too close for comfort. You can feel his shoulder press into your own. You look back down and try to ignore the biggest bullies in your school. Surely, Karma will be back any minute from now.

“Ditched the whore outfit? That’s too bad, you won’t get any customers like this.” Asano taunts. “Fortunately, we were already aware of your little side job, so why don’t you entertain us?” He asks. You have no idea why Asano insists on belittling you, you don’t recall ever doing anything to invoke this wrath.

It is almost as if ridiculing your everything is the bane of his existence. There is always a deep resentment to his words, the scrutiny apparent in his eyes. You really don’t get it, all you ever did to anger him was drop out of class A, and that should not have been personal at all. 

Although the Five Virtuosos, as they like to call themselves, pick on everyone in your classroom, Asano seems to have it out for you specifically. Karma claims it is his way to get your attention, but you’d be utterly disturbed if this is Asano’s way to show his affinity for you.

Suddenly you feel a hand creeping up your leg underneath the table. Horrified, you kick the shin of the guy next to you. The hand is immediately retreated from your knee, but the uncomfortably warm feeling lingers.

The guy scrunches his nose up in pain, but there is still a malicious grin on his face. His hand reaches into the pocket of his school uniform and produces a dollar bill.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you wanted the payment beforehand.” He excuses himself, though there is no apologetic tone to his words. He grabs onto the collar of your shirt and you freeze up in panic, cold sweat running down your back.

There is no hand creeping down your shirt, but you feel something being dropped into your collar. The fingers release your shirt and it snaps back to your skin, a piece of paper uncomfortably scratching the skin of your back. As the hand returns empty, you realize it was the dollar bill.

You’re scared to defend yourself, fully aware you can’t take on five guys at the same time. Especially not Ren or Asano, who are both physically fit. Even if you were able to fight all of them off, you’d most likely get in trouble. They hold up an outstanding reputation around the neighborhood.

Reporting them would only result in your own reputation being tarnished, as Asano’s father is not only the principal of your school, but is also very well known throughout the rest of Kunugigaoka. Asano is well respected and rich to boot; you stand no chance against him.

Luckily, the door to the bathroom opens and Karma’s red locks emerge from behind the doorway. The expression on his face changes from a neutral expression to confusion with the telltale tilt of his head.   
Seemingly the whole situation clicks in his head as the corner of his mouth twitches in anger. One of the Big Five follows your stare and is just in time to witness the redhead approaching with large strides as he cracks his knuckles impossibly loud. The guy opens his mouth to warn the rest, but Karma beats him to it.

“How nice of you to keep her company, but I’m afraid you’re taking up my seat.” Karma’s voice is calm and collected, but judging by the way his jaw is locked up he is everything but calm. He swiftly moves to stand behind Ren and puts his hands on the guy’s shoulders.

Suddenly, Ren’s face contorts in discomfort as the blood is drained form Karma’s knuckles in a deathly grip. There is a plastic smile on his face, the malice practically dripping from his exaggeratedly sweet voice.

Karma shoves Ren’s chair with so much force the guy almost tumbles to the ground, he barely manages to plant his feet on the ground. One of his hands is clutching the table, the other is trying to pry Karma’s fingers from his shoulder.

“I really hope none of you need any assistance with getting up.” At this point Karma is almost growling, his eyes temporarily squeezed shut in a fake smile. Grumbling, three of the guys next to you begrudgingly stand up to give you some space. Only Asano stays seated in defiance.

You pick up your backpack and sling your jacket over your shoulder. Hastily, you stand up and squeeze yourself through the path. You’re almost free from the situation, but there is one last obstacle in your way; Asano.

He gives you a cold glare and refuses to move from his position. Your eyes dart to Karma’s and you see his nostrils flare. Luckily, both guys have the sense not to start a fight inside of a café and Asano scoots over a couple of inches, leaving enough space for you to pass through.

You take the opportunity and scramble to stand next to Karma. You pull your arms through your jacket and do up the zipper. When you’re done Karma protectively slings an arm around your shoulder, pulling you towards the exit.

You comply and let him lead you, not daring to look back at the Big Five. When you’re outside Karma squeezes your arm in reassurance and you gratefully look up to him. The smile on his face is one devoid of any hostility and you allow yourself to drown in his mercury eyes.

Karma suggests continuing the brainstorming session at his place and you nod in agreement. The two of you walk towards the bus stop in comfortable silence, Karma’s arm still around your shoulder. You breathe in the scent of coffee and nudge a little closer to the boy, drinking in his warmth.

“You know,” Karma muses, “It took me every last ounce of strength not to beat those assholes to a bloody pulp. They are lucky I spotted a camera in the corner of the café earlier on, because it is literally the only reason I was able to stop myself. Had it been anywhere else, I could not have guaranteed them getting out alive. My blood was boiling! It’s disgusting to see them gang up on a girl like that. Next time just scream for help, okay?”

There is concern in Karma’s eyes and you can’t help but appreciate his protectiveness. You mutter a soft “Okay.” and a small smile creeps onto your face. You feel safe so close to him.

Once you arrive at Karma’s house, he opens the front door and gestures for you to get inside first. You half expect him to jokingly say “after you, m’lady,” but he doesn’t. Karma closes the door behind you and flips a switch to illuminate the dimly lit hallway. You look at the coat rack and notice there are no other shoes besides your own.

“My parents aren’t home; I hope you don’t mind.” Karma shrugs. You don’t really mind, though the large house does feel a bit empty with just the two of you in it. You’ve been to Karma’s house before a few times and each time has had you wondering if Karma ever gets lonely when his parents are overseas.

You unzip your jacket and try to shrug the garment off. You have no idea how, but you’ve managed to get your arm stuck in one of the sleeves. Karma leans against the doorframe for a few moments, shaking his head and chuckling silently to himself, before he steps forward to help you.

The warmth of his hands on your arm is welcome and you have to stifle a giggle of your own. You pull on the sleeve in tandem and your arm is released with the satisfying rustling of fabric.

Suddenly Karma’s chuckles fall silent and you turn around to lift an eyebrow at him. Karma’s gaze is fixated on the floor and when you follow his line of vision you see a dollar bill on the floor. It must have come loose from underneath your shirt due to the movement of your arms.

“Why was that in your shirt?” Karma questions. You stare at the money, a sad smile on your face. You cross your arms over each other, the temperature in the room feels like it has dropped immediately as goosebumps ripple your arms.

“They put it in there.” You admit in a small voice, embarrassed. Karma probably hadn’t witnessed the way the creepy guy next to you had put his hands on your leg either. Karma clenches his fist in anger, there is fire in his eyes.

“I think it’s a good thing you only just told me; I don’t think I’d have been able to keep myself from punching at least one of them a broken nose if I’d seen that.” You’re convinced steam would’ve come out of his ears if it were possible. His eyebrows are scrunched together and the muscles in his shoulders are forcibly tensed.

“Fucking losers, always picking on people weaker than them. If only I had the chance to fight them one on one. See how they’d like me then. I’d break every single bone in their bodies, I can promise you that. They’d regret the day they were born.” You feel a strange happiness from hearing Karma state he’d avenge you, even though you’re personally against beating those guys bloody.

Karma leads you to the sofa in the living room and disappears into the kitchen. You hear him rummaging around and soon the air is filled with the bittersweet scent of coffee. He returns with two steaming mugs and places them on the side table in front of the sofa.

The irresistible smell wafts over the table and you reach for the mug closest to you, but before you can grab it Karma quickly snatches it into his own hands. He slides the other mug closer to you. You give him a strange look.

“Did you spice mine or something?” you joke.

“What?” Karma is exasperated. “Of course not! I just noticed it’s chipped, wouldn’t want you to cut yourself.” He murmurs the last part to himself, but it’s loud enough for you to pick up on. You can’t help but grin, surprised at the amount of consideration.

A warm feeling spreads throughout your body and you try to blame it on the coffee warming your hands, but your heart thumps in your chest. You’re reminded of your conversation with Rio. You should probably ask Karma what he sees the two of you as.

You fiddle with the handle of your mug, biting your lip as you’re too cowardly to actually do so. You’re so afraid of rejection and what’s worse is that if he rejects you, you’ll still be stuck here with him in his own house. That would absolutely suck. You chew your lip unconsciously and your worried expression doesn’t go unnoticed.

“What’s up with that long face?” Karma asks, “You’re gonna get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that.” You quickly contort your face into a somewhat neutral expression. If you want to discuss your relationship this would probably be the best time for it.

You breathe in. The fragrance of Karma’s house overwhelms you and you quickly hold your mug closer to your face, the scent of coffee replacing some of the smell that is so undeniably Karma. The temperature inside of the living room is comfortably warm. Are you really going to ruin this moment with your stupid little crush?

“Ah, nothing. I was just thinking about Asano. This is not the first time he’s harassed me.” You quickly improvise.

“I know.” 

“Last week we ended up on the same bus and he was getting onto me, insulting me. I got off one stop early to walk home, which is probably why I came down with a cold this weekend.”

“Is it bothering you that much?” Karma interjects. “It’s most likely nothing personal. The ‘Five Virtuosos’ just like to pick on class E, that’s all.” He tries to reassure you, giving you an uncharacteristically soft smile. His hand moves to rest over your own.

“It is personal though.” You tell Karma. “Asano is constantly picking on me, it’s as if there’s a target drawn on my back. He wasn’t just insulting me on the bus, he tried to put his hand up my skirt, for God’s sake! And for some reason he keeps on insisting that I’m a whore, but I really don’t know what I did to deserve his wrath.”

You feel ready to break down in front of Karma. If there’s anything you hate, it’s talking about Asano, he makes you feel helpless in a terrible way. Although you now possess the skills to beat him up, you know you can’t because of who he is. 

Karma hums in thought, his fingers slowly interlacing with your own. Suddenly he’s grinning.

“Sounds like someone has a crush.” You look up at Karma in shock. 

“It’s not funny! We went over this already, why would he insult me like that then? If it’s attention he wants I could give it to him, if only he’d ask for it in a nicer way. We hung out a couple of times when I was still in class A, he was always kind to me until my grades started to drop.” 

It hurts to think about it. You actually kind of liked Asano back then, before he turned into your tormenter. You feel you could have even developed a crush on him if he hadn’t started resorting to being hateful. Karma crosses his arms and gives you a fed-up look.

“It’s because he can’t be nice to you if he wants to keep up his reputation. Bullying class E is encouraged by the school system, so when he harasses you, he’s scoring points with his classmates and grabbing your attention. He must be so happy to know he’s constantly on your mind.”

You don’t believe Karma. Asano never showed any signs of wanting to be more than friends, even when you were in class A. You purse your lips and squint at the redhead.

“No way. He hates me, and that’s fine. I just wish he’d keep his resentment to himself.” Karma crosses his arms over each other and stares you down.

“He. Likes. You. How many times do I have to repeat that?” Karma’s voice is impatient.

“No. He. Does. Not.” You stubbornly reply. Your bottom lip is jutted out in a slight pout. Karma clicks his tongue and grabs onto your shoulders. His slender fingers softly dig into your skin as he faces you. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t find it attractive.

“Yes. He. Does. Why is it every time I tell you someone is attracted to you, you disagree!? Come on, is it really that hard to believe?” You chew on your bottom lip as you avoid Karma’s gaze. It’s not that you have such low self-esteem, but he’s kind of right.

The grip on your shoulders tightens and for a short second there’s a crazed glint in Karma’s eyes. You’re afraid he’s going to shake you, but all he does is put more of his weight onto you. The action catches you off guard and you’re forced to lean back into the pile of pillows behind you.

“I’m cute.” Karma states. You give him a confused look, as if you didn’t know that.

“Say it.” He commands.

“What?”

“Repeat after me; I’m cute.” Karma leans closer, his hot breath fanning over your face. The grip on your shoulders makes it impossible to pull away and put some distance between the two of you. 

“I’m… cute?” You try.

“Be more confident.”

“I’m cute.” You repeat.

“Now say; I’m attractive.”

“I’m attractive.” It feels weird to state these types of things about yourself, but you can’t say it feels bad to be so close to Karma and have him say you’re attractive, well, in a way.

“I’m sexy.”

“I’m sexy.”

“Asano wants to get in my pants.”

“Asa-, wait, what? No!” You exclaim, a look of pure disgust flashes over your features. Karma’s nose scrunches up and for a split second the grip on your shoulders falters, but then he bursts into laughter.

His laughter is deep and warm and a tingly feeling spreads from your head to your toes. The sound dies down as Karma manages to compose himself again. A few strands of his hair have fallen into his face and he tries to blow them back as both of his hands are occupied with your shoulders.

“You should’ve seen your face! Absolutely priceless!” Karma sighs contently. The joy in his face makes him seem so innocent, but the way he’s hunched over you sends chills down your spine. 

Karma leans closer, his chest is almost flush against yours as your breathing turns ragged. He’s so close. You drink in every little detail, from the tiny scar on his forehead to the few freckles on his neck to the dip of his collarbone.

You let out a soft sigh. Oh, how you’d like to trace your fingers down those prominent veins on his arms…

“What would you do,” Karma’s voice is a hoarse whisper, “if I tried to come onto you.” You know he wants you to defend yourself, but God, you’d let him have you.

“I would probably try to poke one of your eyes out, so you better be careful.” The tone of your voice is nervous, but you’re sure Karma didn’t miss the hint of excitement.

“But what if…” Karma’s fingers move to find your lower arms and trace up your wrists until he can easily close his hands around them.

“What if I’m holding onto your arms and you can’t use your legs.” He demonstratively applies more pressure to your wrists, although you hadn’t even tried to pull them back.

“I’ll bite you.” You whisper. Karma chuckles lowly, you can feel the vibrations of his chest against yours.

“Watch out, that might just turn me on.” He whispers back. Every hair on your body is raised upright, goosebumps litter your skin as your pupils dilate.

“Maybe we should get back to the project.” Karma suggests, and within a second he’s removed himself from you. 

“I’ll go get my stuff, be back in a minute.” Karma disappears into the hallway. You’re still seated on the couch, your face a flustered mess.

“What the hell was that?” You whisper to yourself, trying to wrap your mind around the enigma that is Karma.


	8. The clue to his heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go on a little scavenger hunt and spend some quality time with Karma.

Currently, you’re in the middle of a dark forest, waiting until one of the black shadows jumps out to scare you witless. Your idea for a scavenger hunt was a success with your classmates. However, Korosensei had to go and add his own so-called ‘romantic twist’ to the activity, which is why you’re rummaging through the forest to collect clues with Akabane Karma at your side.

The forest is dark and the only reason you’ve managed to follow the practically invisible path is the flashlight Korosensei had handed Karma. If not for your extraterrestrial teacher, this would have been a ridiculously stupid idea, letting a group of young adults roam around a dark forest at night without their phones or any other way to contact someone in case of emergency.

The objective of the scavenger hunt is to collect as many colored notes belonging to your team as possible. Throughout the forest numerous clues were either hanging in plain sight or hidden precariously. When solved correctly the answer would provide a clue to the location of the notes. Karma and you are on Team Blue, though you don’t know what teams your other classmates are on.

Although you’ll only receive points for notes corresponding to your team color, Karma and you had taken to solving all of the riddles on the clues, because finding the notes belonging to other teams would mean they’d be able to score less points.

“Hey, look at that white thing over there! Doesn’t it look like Sugino’s baseball cap?” Karma points to your left. You follow his pointer finger and squint your eyes at the white spot moving around slightly.

“Yeah, you’re right! Although it could also be Korosensei trying to trick us, or another note even. It’s so far away!” You strain your eyes even more, the movement of what’s presumably a baseball cap seems too slow to be your teacher, but too fast to be a note moving in the wind.

A faint “shit” confirms your suspicions, it’s definitely Sugino. You grin at Karma and he grabs for your hand, picking up the pace so you can catch up with Sugino and his partner, most likely Kanzaki.

You’re jogging up to the pair, but before they notice you, Karma stops and quickly sorts all of the notes you’ve collected, burying them deep into the pockets of his jacket. He grabs your hand again and the pair of you make your way to your classmates.

Kanzaki is the first to notice you. She turns around, her hair sways elegantly with the motion of her head as she gives you a gentle smile. Upon Kanzaki’s greeting, Sugino follows her gaze and lets out a surprised shout.

“Hey guys! Wow, you’re only the second pair we’ve met tonight, this forest is huuuge!” Sugino gestures wildly to show exactly how large he thinks the forest is, his eyes wide with excitement. You’re glad your other classmates are enjoying the scavenger hunt as well.  
“So,” Karma starts, “how many notes have you collected yet?” There is a sly glint in his eyes, but Sugino doesn’t seem to notice. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a bunch of crumpled yellow cards.

“That’s one, two, three, four, five… five notes so far. How about you?” Karma puts his hand into his pocket and rummages around for a bit. He takes his time to retract his hand, in it are three yellow notes.

“Just three, but that’s mainly because she’s so slow.” Karma points an accusing finger in your direction. You frown and swat at his hand, which only earns you a faint chuckle. Karma tucks the notes back into the pocket he pulled them from.

“Looks like we’re on the same side!” Kanzaki beams. You reciprocate her smile, although there’s a different motivation behind yours. 

“So, it’s probably better if we split up again, there’s a bigger chance we’ll find more notes that way. Got any tips or recommendations for a change of direction?” Karma slaps Sugino’s shoulder in a friendly manner.

“Yeah, if you head that way,” Kanzaki points her thumb behind her,” you’ll find a large tree next to a small bench. There’s a note with clues attached to the tree, though we couldn’t figure the yellow clue out. Maybe you guys can?”

“Oh, we could give it a try! We already scouted out the left area, so maybe you could go to the right?” Karma suggests. Honestly, you’d only covered the right side and you were pretty sure there were almost no notes left of any color. You feel a little sorry for your classmates, but your competitiveness keeps you from spilling the truth.

You part ways and head in the direction Kanzaki pointed you. When you’re sure Sugino and Kanzaki are out of earshot you let out a laugh.

“Ha, I can’t believe how much of a sneak you are! Pretending to be on their team to win information and then sending them off in the wrong direction, truly a power move!” A grin is stretched wide across your features. Karma looks at you and joins in on your laughter.

“And I can’t believe they fell for that. They didn’t even question us for a single second. Oh, and look, now we have five yellow cards instead of three.” You look at the redhead in disbelief.

“Wait? You stole those from them? But, when? Don’t tell me… when you slapped Sugino’s back…” 

“Yup, you’re finally putting two and two together, baby.” Karma gently swings your interlaced hands between your bodies. The loose usage of the nickname tints your cheeks rosy and you’re suddenly glad it’s too dark to see even a couple of feet in front of you.

There is a comfortable silence as you continue on your path, simply enjoying walking close to each other. Then you spot a small bench to your left. You squeeze Karma’s hand to signal him and pull him after you.

Next to the bench is an old tree that’s slowly losing its leaves to the autumn weather. There is a branch directly above your head, an envelope is tied to its end. Karma shines the flashlight on the branch as you raise your arms to undo the knot. After a few seconds of using your nails to undo the rope you manage to pull the envelope free.

Karma points the flashlight at the paper and you open it. However, as you unfold the paper the beam of the flashlight suddenly dies out and you’re left in complete darkness.

“Don’t be such a dick, turn it back on!” You shoot at Karma.

“Stop immediately accusing me, I didn’t turn it off!” He replies. You suspect it’s just another prank, it’s not unlike Karma to forget the competition for a little while just to pull a prank. You wait for Karma to turn the light back on, but there is only the sound of a button being pressed.

“It doesn’t work anymore, I’m serious. Listen, I’m pressing the button!” You listen to the clicking for a few seconds until you decide to trust it’s not a prank. 

“How about we sit down on the bench a try to change the batteries? Korosensei gave us two spare ones, ever the prepared teacher.” Still unaccustomed to the complete darkness, your eyes can only make out Karma’s silhouette as he moves to take a seat.

You decide to follow in his actions and sit down next to him. You hear the rustling of fabric as Karma pulls out something from his pocket, presumably the batteries. There is no way to see what he’s doing, but you can only guess he’s unscrewing the bottom of the flashlight from the sound of a plastic cap twisting.

After a few more seconds you hear a click. The sound is followed by silence. Then there’s another click, and another. Suddenly you hear the sound of the metal part of the flashlight hitting the seating of the bench.

“Hmm, maybe I put in the batteries upside down, there’s really no way to tell in this darkness.” You decide against making a smart comment and wait until Karma takes out the batteries again and inserts them the other way around into the empty compartment. 

“It should work again. If it does not, we’re screwed, so you better cross your fingers.” You wait until you hear the telltale click of the on and off button. There is still no light. Karma curses and bangs the flashlight on the bench again.

The light flashes on and a yellow face is suddenly lit up mere inches in front of you. You shout in surprise and lean back into the curved backrest of the bench, while Karma instinctively throws a punch.

Korosensei narrowly deflects the punch and restrains Karma’s arm as the two of you recover from your shock. Your teacher lets out an unsettling giggle as you try to calm down the erratic beating of your heart. Karma throws his head back and rests his shoulder against yours. 

“What the hell was that?”

“Language, Karma!”

“Sorry, let me reiterate; what the fuck was that?” Korosensei’s face transitions from yellow to orange, a bright red cross marking the middle of his features in disapproval. He takes a step back to give you some space to breathe.

“The scavenger hunt finishes in exactly half an hour, so start making your way back to the main entrance, where we’ll gather. Then we can all take the bus back to the hostel. If you follow this path, you’ll reach the entrance in around twenty minutes.” Karma opens his mouth to ask a question, but Korosensei has already disappeared again.

“We should probably get moving then.” You suggest. You stand up and hold your hand out to help Karma up, who hums in agreement. You appreciate the warmth of his skin and decide to interlace your fingers again. Karma doesn’t seem to mind it as it has become a bit of a habit whenever the two of you are walking somewhere.

You chitchat about school for a little, how you think it’s really unfair that class E gets treated so differently, but how that’s also forming some sort of bond within your class. All of the classes took the same train to the hostel this morning, except for class E, who were the only students traveling second class.

“I don’t really mind it though.” You tell Karma. “Being separated means they won’t belittle us and I really like not being insulted, you know.” You look at Karma expectantly, but there is no answer as his brows are furrowed in thought.

You’re about to ask him what’s wrong, but suddenly the flashlight gives out and your surrounded by darkness once again. You tighten your hold on Karma’s hand. 

“Again? Can’t be the batteries this time, we just put in new ones!” You exclaim. Karma still doesn’t answer, but you hear the soft rattle of the batteries as he shakes the flashlight. It stays off.

“What are we supposed to do now? Do you think we’ll feel it when we accidentally move off the path? But there might be leaves, so we won’t notice a difference. And what if the path splits up? We won’t be able to see it. Do you recon we should wait here until Korosensei finds us?” You ramble in slight panic. 

“How about you calm down for a second?” Karma murmurs softly. The fabric of his clothes rustles as he moves to stand in front of you. A calloused hand cups your cheek as its thumb brushes across the underside of your jaw. Another hand slides across your shoulder to the small of your back and pulls you flush against the redhead’s chest.

The minty scent of his breath wafts over your face. Standing so close to each other you can make out more details on Karma’s face. If you concentrate your eyes on his neck, you can even spot a few of the scattered freckles.

“Are you gonna kiss me?” You blurt out. Karma’s breath is hot on your nose as he leans closer, the mercury in his eyes is a dark grey under the shadows of the trees.

“Yes.” He whispers. His lips are almost touching your own. 

“Do you like me?” You breathe out. You place your hands on his shoulders, ready to either push him away of pull him closer, depending on whether he’ll break your heart or not.

“Yes. A lot.” He mumbles against your lips before pressing his face further into yours. His kiss is soft as you slide your hands up to entangle your fingers in his red locks. Each brush of your lips sends a jolt of electricity down your spine. You apply a bit more pressure as you start to ease into him.

Karma’s mouth opens slightly and you take the opportunity to softly bite down on his plush lower lip, earning you a low groan in the back of his throat. He dips his head down and opens his mouth a bit more, giving you the opportunity to slip the tip of your tongue into his mouth. However, instead you lean back a little and breathe in.

“You could have just said so earlier. Do you have any idea how confused I was?” Your tone is lighthearted as you’re still basking in the warmth of the intimacy. Karma chuckles and shrugs his shoulders; his arm is still holding you close to him.

“Sorry. I’m not that good at expressing feelings, and besides, your confused face is pretty cute.” You frown and shut Karma up by pressing your lips to his again. You tilt your head back and move your lips along to Karma’s rhythm. 

Heat radiates from his body and you unconsciously open your mouth more as the kiss turns from soft to hungry. The hand on your back moves lower until Karma slips his hand into the pocket of your pants.

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!” A booming voice accompanies the bright light that is suddenly shone in your face. You quickly pull apart from Karma who hastily retreats his hand from your pocket. You are mortified as you stare into Korosensei’s wide eyes. His face is bright pink.

“Everyone else returned to the main entrance, like I asked them to. Everyone but you two, so I went looking for you. How I wish I hadn’t found you nearly procreating in this forest!” Tentacles wrap around your shoulders and put more distance between you and the redhead.

“Wh-what? Procreating?! We were doing nothing of the sort!” You protest, but Korosensei is not interested as he continues to mumble to himself about how this was all a plot the two of you had devised back in Kunugigaoka.

“Well, what did you expect?” Karma asks Korosensei. “You’re the one who wanted to introduce a romantic twist to our scavenger hunt. If you think about it, this is really your own fault.” Karma’s eyes are half-closed in the familiar mocking smile on his face.

Korosensei splutters and turns even pinker. He quickly regains his composure and tells you to close your eyes. You do as you’re told and feel wind rush past you. When you open your eyes, the three of you are back at the main entrance with the rest of your classmates.

You spot Rio and Kaede talking to each other and walk over to where they are standing. Kaede is the first to notice you as she clasps her hands together in excitement.

“Hey, I’m so glad to see you’re alright!” she tells you. “We thought something might have happened to you! I was really nervous; I don’t even know what kind of music you want to be played at your funeral!” You scrunch up your nose and shake your head in disapproval.

“I go missing for a few minutes and you’re already planning my funeral? Fortunately, I was not murdered and there’s no need for a funeral.” 

“That’s too bad, I would’ve liked to be the first to claim that grey sweater you don’t wear that often. The one with the high collar? I think it would look good on me.” You pretend to smack the girl as she stifles the sound of her giggle with her hands.

“No funeral?” Rio quirks one of her eyebrows up, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “Maybe a funeral for your virginity? Do you see how pink Korosensei’s face is? He definitely witnessed something he wasn’t supposed to witness…” 

“Shut up! It’s not like that!” You defend yourself. “It was just a kiss, Korosensei is being dramatic. No funeral just yet.” Rio’s expression is still full of doubt, it is clear she doesn’t believe your words.

“Okay everyone, please hand in your notes if you haven’t handed them in already and gather around in a circle!” Korosensei shouts, his face still somewhere in between pink and yellow. The three of you walk closer to your teacher. Karma is standing on the other side of the circle.

You watch as he approaches your teacher and reaches into his pocket. He grabs onto the lining and pulls it outward, emptying the contents into Korosensei’s cupped tentacles. Eight blue notes feather down, your classmates are visibly impressed. Their expressions change to a face of surprise as three red notes follow suit.

Karma reaches into his other pocket and a flurry of green and yellow notes pour into your teacher’s tentacles. The class watches in a horrified fascination at the paper. There is a smug grin on Karma’s face.

“That’s all.” He says and turns around to walk back to the circle. He takes his place next to Nagisa again, but his eyes are flitting from face to face. Once he’s caught your attention, he bares his teeth in a smile and flirtatiously adds a wink. You stick out your tongue in response and turn your attention back to your teacher.

“I will now announce the results.” Korosensei says. “In last place: Team Yellow with nine notes.” You glance over at Sugino, who seems clearly embarrassed. He must’ve noticed the missing notes upon returning to the main entrance.

“In third place: Team Red with twelve notes.” You hear some people sigh, while others happily whisper how they didn’t come in last. “Then, in first place, with only a difference of two notes compared to second place: Team Green with an astonishing 19 notes! Congratulations! This means Team Blue comes in at second place. And the rest of you, don’t be discouraged, you all tried your best.”

Kaede does a little victory dance next to you and you turn around to congratulate her. You might have lost the competition, but tonight you feel like you’re the real winner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm surprised to see so many people still read AssClass fanfics. The kudos and comments are really motivating, thanks so much! Finally the romantic story arc progresses :) According to my planning there are only a few chapters left, but I'm really struggling with writing an actual end to the story. It feels a bit bland to just stop writing, though I also really want to start something for BNHA. Constructive criticism is always welcome as well!


	9. Truth or Dare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You play a fun game of truth or dare with your friends.

It’s the second evening of the trip. Your activities for the night have officially finished, but sleep is the furthest thing on your mind right now. You’re changing into a pair of comfortable shorts and a dark shirt. If anyone catches you it serves as a disguise, pretending you’re wearing the clothes as nightclothes. It’s only eleven o’ clock, the night is still young. You pull your fingers through your hair and try to work out a tangle.

“Hey, does anyone have a brush with them? I forgot mine in the bathroom.” You ask the girls you’re sharing your room with. Okuda reaches into her bag and produces a comb with a smile. You gratefully take it from her and brush out the knot in your hair.

“Thanks!” You say to Okuda, who places the comb back into its rightful compartment. You look over to the other side of the room where Kayano and Rio are waiting on you. They are dressed in a similar fashion to yours as to not get caught.

The three of you had promised to sneak into the boys’ room for some fun, but you had not anticipated that the boys and girls would reside on separate floors. You had no idea whether one of your teachers would be on the lookout, so you’d have to be extra careful.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come along?” Kayano asks your black-haired classmate. She shrugs her shoulders and takes off her glasses, resting them on the bedside table next to her pillow. 

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’m rather tired and I also really don’t want to get caught.” Rio doesn’t seem satisfied with the answer, but she doesn’t oppose Okuda either. You don’t try to convince her; afraid you’ll make her uncomfortable and softly squeeze her shoulder to say goodbye.

“We’ll try to be as quiet as possible when we return, so we don’t wake you up. Sweet dreams!” Kayano promises as she opens the door. You follow behind Rio and give the door a gentle push, slotting it back into place with a dull thud.

When you turn around, the two girls are already halfway down the hallway and you hurriedly quicken your pace to catch up with them. The three of you come to a halt in front of the elevator.

“Are we really going to do this? What if Korosensei or Miss Bitch is waiting at the lounge on the second floor?” Your head is filled with doubts. Korosensei had strictly forbidden the girls and boys to enter each other’s floor, the punishment was cleaning up the classroom after school for a week each, once you got back to school. You certainly weren't looking forward to that.

“Yeah, maybe we should take the stairs instead.” Rio agrees. “That way we can always turn around and try to sneak back if we spot one of the teachers.” Kayano turns towards the stairs, but you’re pretty confident if it’s Korosensei guarding the hallway there is a zero percent chance you’ll be able to escape.

Kayano walks up front, Rio and you silently climbing the steps behind her. She sticks her head around the corner at the top of the stairs. Her head turns from the left to the right and to the left again to be completely sure, then she holds up one of her thumbs to show the path is clear.

You tiptoe in a row and think to yourself how comical you must look at the moment. Rio counts the doors with her pointer finger as she walks past all of them. She comes to a halt in front of the single last door in the hallway and lifts up her hand. There are three rhythmic knocks, a quick silence, and then two more knocks.

When the door doesn’t open, Rio knocks again. Suddenly the door is flung open, Maehara’s head frantically whipping from side to side to make sure there is no teacher in sight. When he deems the coast clear he grabs Rio’s arm and pulls her inside, motioning for you to follow.

Once the three of you are inside, Maehara closes the door with a loud thud. Your eyes scan the room, the layout of the room is similar to your own. Nagisa, Karma and Isogai are sitting on the floor in between the two bunkbeds, a bunch of cards have been thrown onto a heap in the centre.

You sit down on the empty spot next to Karma, presumably the spot Maehara had previously been sitting as he moves to sit down next to you. The other girls sit opposite of you and some sort of misshapen circle is formed.

“So, you made it, congrats!” Isogai greets with a smile, there are three cards in his hand which he quickly throws onto the heap.

“Hey, don’t think we didn’t see that, Isogai. That counts as a loss.” Karma complains next to you. He pulls out two cards from his sleeve and throws them on the heap as well. There is a wide grin on his face.

“You fucker, I already thought I’d lost!” Maehara joins in. Karma is about to fuel the fire, but there are five more knocks to the wood of the door. Maehara stands up from his spot again and stretches out his back as he takes a step towards the door.

When he opens it, a familiar graceful smile greets you. Kanzaki enters through the door, her long black hair pulled into a low ponytail. Sugino follows closely behind, the heavy thumps of his shoes form a great contrast to Kanzaki’s soft footfalls.

Both of them settle down in the misshapen circle. When everyone is seated, Nagisa swipes the heap of cards to the side, organizing them in one neat pile once more. Kayano is watching attentively, her brows furrowed in concentration as she is mesmerized by the way Nagisa skillfully shuffles the cards. The both of them are brought out of their trance as Maehara scrapes his throat.

“Esteemed friends and classmates,” you’re impressed Maehara is using such a difficult word, “thank you for your attendance. I have gathered all of you here today for the most memorable event of the year. Prepare to be blown away!” You grin and look to your side, Karma’s right eyebrow is pulled up in an unimpressed manner, his nose scrunched up just a little.

Maehara reaches his arm underneath the bed and rummages through an open bag, you can already hear the sound of glass bottles clinking against each other. You shake your head as Maehara retreats his hand, a large bottle without a label tightly secured in his fist.

“We will be playing truth or dare!” Rio tilts her head to catch your attention and rolls her eyes. Your gaze flits from the blonde to Isogai sitting next to her, his lips form a thin line in clear displeasure.

“But! But, but, but… there is a twist! What’s a night of fun without some booze? That’s right, no fun!” Maehara unscrews the cap of the bottle. As soon as he moves the liquid in your direction the sharp scent of alcohol invades your nose. You have no idea what it is, but it’s definitely strong.

You move your head to the side with distaste, you hope you won’t be drinking much of the dark mystery liquid tonight, or ever for that matter.

“What’s in it?” you ask with curiosity. Maehara leans closer to your face, a Cheshire grin splitting his face from ear to ear.

“Party juice.” Is all he tells you. Party juice? What the hell is that supposed to mean? At least you know you won’t be told what’s in Maehara’s bottle until after you’ve drunk from it. You shake your head and lean your back against the bedframe behind you.

“So, there are some extra rules. We’ll use a bottle to determine who is getting a truth or dare. The person who spins gets to ask the person the bottle landed on. If they either refuse or fail to complete the task, they have to choose a card from the deck.” He points his finger at the stack next to Nagisa’s thigh.

“The number on the card determines how many swigs you have to take from the bottle. An ace means one, not thirteen, otherwise someone might die.” You’re glad Maehara is at least a little concerned for everyone else’s health and alcohol tolerance. “King or Queen mean everyone else has to drink.”

Maehara reaches under his bed once more and pulls out a heavy looking plastic bag. He holds above the centre of the circle and turns it upside down. Several bottles of water fall down from the bag and roll over the floor until they bump against someone’s leg.

Isogai grabs one of the bottles and you follow his example. As everyone grabs a bottle you notice there is one extra bottle. It’s larger than the others, the circumference of the cap a bit smaller. Maehara grabs the bottle, his arm posed at an angle, ready to spin.

“Ready?” He asks, looking around the circle for confirmation. As soon as he’s confident everyone’s watching he twists his wrist and releases the bottle. The force of the turn causes the bottle to spin around wildly and all of you look on in anticipation.

You realize you’re holding in a breath and slowly exhale as the bottle comes to a halt. It is almost completely still as it reaches Nagisa, but the smooth floor has the bottle slowly turn a few degrees further, landing on Kayano. She looks up, a mix of excitement and nervousness present on her face.

“Truth.” She mumbles.

“So, Kayano, I’ll start off easy. I’m curious…” Maehara starts, “what’s the weirdest thing you have an emotional attachment to?” The question is indeed a more innocent one compared to what Maehara usually asks of his friends.

Kayano purses her lips and touches an index finger to her cheek, slightly tilting her head in thought. It is silent for a moment as the girl racks through her brain. You patiently await her reply when you feel Karma shift next to you. He moves his shoulders until they are gently pressed against yours, his knee bumping into your calve.

You turn your head to face him, but he isn’t looking at you. The lack of acknowledgement irritates you and you softly elbow his side. Karma tilts his face and gives you a curious look. You stare at him, a pout on your lips as you wait for his reaction. He copies your expression and mouths a ‘what’ to you.

“Oh, I know!” Kayano’s voice breeches the silence, “I have a small blanket in the bottom drawer of my closet. My grandma gave it to me when I was younger and when I’m sad I wrap it around myself and I instantly feel better. It’s completely worn, but I just can’t bring myself to throw it out.” There is a sad smile on her face as she drowns in her own nostalgia.

Sugino mutters a “cute” and Kayano’s ears heat up a little. She quickly reaches forward and spins the bottle. Everyone has their eyes close on the bottle as it softly spins in circles. The room is silent as the bottle slows to point at Kanzaki. She opens her mouth to answer, but has second thoughts as she purses her lips again. You’re surprised when she chooses dare over truth.

“Alrighty then! Let me come up with something real quick.” Kayano chirps. You see the corner of Rio’s lips turn up in a devious smile as she leans in to whisper something in the green haired girl’s ear. Rio’s whisper is too quiet to pick up on, but judging by the way Kayano’s eyes widen in shock it must be an excellent dare. When Rio pulls away, the both of them are grinning like madmen.

“Show us what your moans sound like.” Kayano says. The regret is clear on Kanzaki’s face as she nervously fumbles with her hands.

“I thought we were going to start off easy?” She tries to convince Kayano.

“That is easy, honey!” Rio interjects. Her smile is the widest of all and you already fear for the questions that are going to leave her mouth as the game progresses. Kanzaki is picking at her nails, debating whether she wants to embarrass herself like that in front of her friends.

“I- I can’t. Not in front of everyone.” Her gaze is averted to the floor in a bashful manner. Rio leans forwards so she can look at Kanzaki and quirks one of her eyebrows up.

“Just so you know, it’s only going to get worse from here on.” 

“Really? I think having to moan out loud is pretty bad already. I’d rather embarrass myself in a different manner. You wouldn’t moan in front of everyone here either.” Kanzaki tells Rio. The blonde’s face contorts into a crooked smile as she throws her head back. An exaggeratedly loud, high-pitched moan leaves her mouth as she stares Kanzaki down.

“Jesus, do you want to wake up Korosensei?” Maehara shushes her.

“Does he even sleep?”

“That’s beside the point!”

Sugino tries to convince Kanzaki to complete the dare, but she reaches for one of the cards instead. She takes a look at the number on the card and her lips stretch into a small smile.

“Two.” She says as she flips the card for everyone to see. You hear Maehara whisper a ‘lucky bastard’ as he hands her the bottle. Kanzaki lifts the opening to her nose and breathes in, but she quickly tilts her head backwards as the sting of the alcohol invades her nose.

For a second you think she’s going to refuse, but then she straightens her shoulders, rolling her head from side to side, and lifts the bottle to her lips. She takes two quick swigs and swallows. Her eyebrows furrow in disgust and she hands the bottle back to Maehara.

“What is that?” Kanzaki mutters as she spins the plastic bottle on the floor, her other hand already reaching for the water next to her. She is still trying to drown out the horrible taste from her mouth when the bottle moves closer to you at a dangerously close pace. Luckily, it misses you and ends up pointing at Karma instead.

“Karma, like you’ve probably already seen; it’s war, so don’t think I’m going to go easy on you.” Kanzaki warns in a stern voice. You realise what she’s playing at as Karma is never one to turn down a challenge.

“Dare.” He says nonchalantly, but you know Kanzaki has the upper hand. You grin to yourself as the timid beauty lifts her eyebrows in satisfaction.

“Demonstrate your favorite position.” Comes her command. You expect Karma to be at least a little taken aback, but if he’s uncomfortable it doesn’t show on his face. He turns around to look at you, the wicked smile on his face sending shivers down your spine.

“I know what you’re thinking.” You say. “Not a chance.” However, Karma has no mercy as he pulls you up to your feet. He pushes you to the bottom bunkbed and you lose your balance, placing one of your knees and both of your arms on the bed to steady yourself.

You feel the bed dip behind you as Karma nudges your feet further apart with a knee, settling himself in between them. You feel your cheeks heat up as he presses down on your shoulders, making you sink down onto the covers. His nimble digits encase your wrists and he pulls them behind your back, rendering you unable to move.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say this is my favorite, but I enjoy any position in which I’m in control. It doesn’t matter if that’s because I’m holding someone down or if they’re restricted, but as long as I have complete dominance, I’m happy.” You don’t even need to see his face to detect the smug grin.

You feel relieved as the pressure on your wrists is released. A weight is lifted from the bed and you push yourself back up into a seated position. When you turn around, Karma is offering you his hand, but you refuse and slide down from the bed, sitting back in your previous spot. 

Rio whistles and you look at her in annoyance, the embarrassment still tinting your cheeks a rosy hue. You avert your eyes as Karma slides in next to you to spin the bottle once more. You resist the temptation to chug some of Maehara’s ‘party juice’ in order to ease your nerves.

The bottle lands on Nagisa who cautiously asks for a truth. When Karma asks him who the last person Nagisa licked is, the blood drains from his face. There is no answer as the boy silently grabs a card from the deck. The horror on his face is suddenly replaced by disbelief and then relief as he flips the card around, the queen of hearts stares back into your eyes.

“So, we all drink?” You ask. Maehara confirms your question with a nod while he’s already unscrewing the cap from the bottle. As soon as it’s open, he takes a long gulp from the liquid. You watch on in morbid fascination as he swipes the back of his hand across his chin to catch a wandering droplet.

You hold out your hand to receive the bottle and Maehara smiles at your eagerness. The scent of the alcohol wafts from his breath and you debate whether you should pinch your nose. In the end you decide against it and carefully sip from the liquid.

It burns your throat and you cough, wondering how Kanzaki kept it down that easily. You reach for your water to wash away the horrible bitter taste of the concoction. The drink swishes around in the bottle as you hastily pass it on to Karma, who puts the bottle to his lips without a second thought.

You watch him down what looks like more than just a little draught. There is no emotion on his face as he drinks the liquid like a champ. You can’t help but be impressed.

“Two shots of vodka…” You whisper to the redhead. He lets out a snort and hastily swallows the liquid before he can accidentally spit it out in a chuckle. The rumble of his voice is deep and inviting and you feel a warmth spread from your head to your toes as you stifle a giggle.

The bottle is passed around the circle and you laugh at Isogai’s horrified expression when the scent of the drink overwhelms him. The game goes on for a while and with each drop of alcohol you feel yourself getting looser.

The temperature in the room rises as so many people are huddled close together and you’re still pressed up against Karma’s shoulder. Your head is spinning a little bit and it’s getting more difficult to focus your thoughts since you drew a nine after refusing to have Maehara draw something on your face with a permanent marker.

Kanzaki is fighting to keep her eyes open as she’s had the most to drink so far, the alcohol making her drowsy. In the last couple of hours, you’ve learned more about your classmates’ sexual preferences that you could have ever dreamed of.

You glance around the room, there is not a single sober person left. Your friends are slurring their words, giggling at the most uninteresting things. The floor is covered in popcorn, curtesy of Isogai who managed to open several bags without using his hands.

The window is still closed to keep the noise inside and you fan your face with your hand, the alcohol causing your cheeks to glow. Although, at this point you’re content with blaming it on the alcohol, as you’re practically drooling at the sight of Karma’s muscular arms. 

You hear Nagisa gasp as he scrolls through Sugino’s phone and turn your head to spare him a curious glance. 

“What’s thaaat?” Kayano asks, drawing out her words. Nagisa tilts the screen for Kayano to see and her eyes widen dramatically. 

“Whaaaat? Sugino! I didn’t know you were packing!” She says, not a single ounce of embarrassment left in her demeanor. The athletic boy touches his hand to the back of his neck in a self-conscious manner, although a small smile indicates his pride.

“You win, man, you win.” Maehara adds. Sugino grabs the plastic bottle that has miraculously survived throughout all of the game and gives it a spin. Your eyes try to concentrate on the bottle, but your vision is lagging.

You register the cap of the bottle pointing in your general direction, but it takes you a few seconds to wrap your head around the consequences. Sugino excitedly shouts at you to pick truth or dare and you wonder how none of your teachers have barged into the room because of a noise complaint yet. Your whole body feels hot and you can’t help but let the alcohol speak for you, you’re bolder than you’ve ever known yourself to be.

“Dare!” You call out, ready to be active. Sugino wiggles his eyebrows at you, his lips pressed tightly together in a mischievous smile. You hope it’s something good.

“You have to let Karma…”, Sugino takes a moment to drunkenly giggle, “give you a hickey!” There is only excitement on your face as your bashfulness has long been discarded. You sit up on your knees and lock your gaze with Karma’s.

The redhead doesn’t try to hide his excitement as he reaches out to take a hold of your upper arm. You let him pull you into his lap, throwing one of your legs over his to straddle him. His hands are warm and large on your shoulders and you feel like you’re going to burst.

You angle your head backwards as you feel two of his fingers trace from the underside of your jaw to the collar of your shirt, the touch lingering on your skin. You feel him grab the fabric of your shirt and pull it down a little.

“I’ll give you a choice. I can give you one hickey in a rather obvious spot, or I can give you two of them in more hidden spots. Your call.” Karma declares deviously, a hint of pink tinting his cheeks. At the moment you just want to feel his lips against your skin, and two doesn’t sound that bad.

“Two.” You breathe out, head still tilted backwards. The moment the word leaves your mouth, a hot pair of lips attach themselves to your skin. The contact sends tingles down your spine as you slowly exhale, your hands reaching up to grab Karma’s shoulders for support.

You close your eyes as the redhead sucks a mark into your soft skin. One of his hands is still grasping onto the collar of your shirt, while the other snakes around your waist, pulling you flush against his heated body.

Suddenly, Karma’s teeth rake over the spot and goosebumps race over your skin. He bites down gently and you let out a content sigh, enjoying the mixture of pain and pleasure. His teeth release your skin and Karma slowly pulls his head back.

Your eyes are still closed as nimble fingers grab hold of your jaw, angling your face to meet him in a kiss. His lips easily fit against your own and for a moment you are lost in complete bliss, forgetting every other person watching the pair of you intensely.

You pull back as Karma snakes his hands underneath the hem of your shirt. You’re quick to take the hint and pull the item of clothing over your head without a moment’s hesitation. You faintly register a whistle, but you don’t give a fuck. You’re not the first to go shirtless as Rio had already proudly paraded around in just her underwear minutes ago.

Karma wraps both of his arms tightly around your waist as he bends forward, carefully lowering you to the ground. The cold floor feels pleasant to the skin of your back. You look up at Karma hovering above you, a crazed expression on his face.

You take a moment to drink in his handsome features, from his disheveled hair to the mercury specks in his eyes. His tongue darts out to swipe across his lips and you feel the urge to bite down on his plush bottom lip.

He slides lower on your body and leans down to blow on the exposed skin of your stomach, sending jolts of electricity through your body. His face remains poised an inch from the supple flesh, his hot breath doing nothing to cool you down.

“Just get on with it.” You whine, not willing to wait for much longer. Karma presses his face to your skin right above the rim of your shorts and you feel his lips turn up in a smirk. Your breath catches in your throat as he sticks out his tongue, dipping it into your belly button before trailing a wet stripe up to your sternum.

You bite your lower lip to suppress a moan as he starts to suck on the skin right below your bra. You work your fingers through his hair and tug not so gently on his red locks. Karma groans softly, his voice sending vibrations to your skin.

He releases the skin with a wet popping sound and immediately soothes the bruise with his tongue. You shudder as Karma sits back up and you take his outstretched hand to help you back into a seated position. You glance down at your upper body, a deep purple blooming beneath your breasts. You’re sure your collarbone has met the same fate.

Suddenly, you’re snapped out of your daze by the sound of clapping. The noise increases in volume and you sheepishly smile as your classmates are visibly impressed with your performance. You look around for your shirt, when you find it, it is hanging between Karma’s thumb and forefinger. You hastily snatch the fabric from his hand and pull it over your head.

You grab the plastic bottle and quickly spin it, happy to distract the others from your previous display, although you’re sure none of them are going to let you live it down over the next couple of weeks. The bottle lands on Nagisa and you dare him to let the others give his hairstyle a makeover. 

Once everyone is arguing about who is going to get to braid your poor friend’s blue hair, you make a move to sit back against the bed frame, but two muscular arms wrap around you from behind, preventing you from doing so. 

You’re pulled into Karma’s lap, your back against his chest as his hands rest on your stomach. You don’t try to hide your smile as you bask in his familiar warmth. The redhead rests his head on your shoulder, subtly nesting his nose into your hair.

“You know,” he whispers, “you smell just as good as you taste…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, we're slowly nearing the end of the story... I think. I didn't originally plan on making this a separate chapter, but then again, I planned to include the previous chapter and the coming chapter in this one as well. I just get so carried away once I start to write! I hope you enjoy some action, see you next chapter :)


	10. Drunken stupor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You do something you should have done a long time ago.

You stifle a giggle at the countless blue braids crisscrossing on top of Nagisa’s head. It’s gonna be a pain to take those out and you’re glad to say you’re in a much more comfortable position, nestled against Karma’s back.

“How are you holding up?” the redhead mutters into your hair, arms still wound around your waist. You hum in response, feeling tired from the alcohol in your system. Tomorrow is going to be a drag if all of you are hungover.

“I have to go to the bathroom.” You say, hands softly squeezing his arms in a signal to let you go. Karma takes the hint and rests his arms at his sides, giving you space to get to your feet in front of him.

“Need me to accompany you?” He asks all too innocently. You give him a look and he bites his lip in an attempt to hide a smile. One of his eyebrows lifts suggestively as you shake your head carefully, the room moving along a bit too slow as you’re still a little bit lightheaded.

“I don’t know what you’re scheming, but I don’t think I want to find out right now. I’ll be fine on my own.” You shoot him down with a smile of your own cracking at your lips. You take a step towards the door, Karma’s eyes still boring into your back. The door opens with a soft creak, the cool air outside of the room feels nice on your heated cheeks.

Tiptoeing, you make your way over to the bathroom, being careful as to not make too much noise. If Korosensei catches you it’s over for everyone else as well. Luckily, there is no one in sight as you enter a stall.

After emptying your bladder, you walk over to the sink, washing your hands. When you look in the mirror you finally take note of your disheveled appearance. There is a rosy tint across the bridge of your nose, your cheeks burning even brighter. Your eyes are a little swollen as tiredness and the weight of the alcohol creep in, your hair sticking out in several directions. When you tug down the collar of your shirt, a bright purple mark reveals itself right on your collarbone. You trace your fingers gently over the spot.

You quickly smooth over the strands and splash some water in your face. The cold temperature of the water is refreshing and when you look into the mirror again, you’re a little more presentable. You wonder how Karma managed to keep himself from bursting out laughing at your intoxicated state. When you walk out of the bathroom, you’re greeted by a familiar yet unwelcome face. 

“Hey.” Asano greets and you internally groan, you’re really not in the mood for his bullshit right now, all you want is to go back and have fun with your friends. You give him a curt reply and turn away so you can leave, but the redhead prevents you from doing so as he steps in front of you, blocking your exit.

You lean your shoulder against the wall as he stands opposite of you, lips drawn into a thin line while you wait for him to do something. Asano takes a step closer and you can smell the alcohol on his breath. Apparently, you were not the only ones having some fun this evening. It is a little surprising, you hadn’t taken Asano for the type to get drunk, but then again, you really can’t figure him out. Maybe this is his way to relieve stress. It wouldn’t be that farfetched, seeing the pressure that weighs on his shoulders as the principal’s son.

Asano leans ever closer; his knees are almost touching yours. You tilt your head, staring up at him. A small surge of panic rushes through your mind, but there’s surprisingly little hate in his eyes.

“Cute pajamas.” He offers. There is no sarcasm in his voice, nothing that indicates any sort of sneer. You expect him to follow up his comment with an insult, but only awkward silence follows as he waits for a reply. You fiddle with your hands, unsure of what to do.

You stand there as Asano stares at you expectantly. Hopefully he picks up on the fact that you’re uncomfortable and lets you off without trying to take another jab at you. As the silence continues to grow longer, Asano makes no move. You’re puzzled, contemplating whether you should just step around him, but the smell on his breath is keeping you from moving away. You’d prefer to avoid a confrontation if possible and you have no idea how he’ll react in this intoxicated state. Finally, he opens his mouth.

“I need to ask you something.” He says.

“Go ahead.” You reply, every fiber in your body is suspicious of him. You’re so used to being insulted that Asano being nice to you is starting to get on your nerves already.

“I have an offer to make that would benefit us both.” You’re suddenly reminded of Karma and the way he had approached you when he’d offered to tutor you. The two redheads are similar in an unnerving way, the difference being that Karma makes you feel secure, while Asano just intimidates you.

“We could do each other a favor,” Asano starts. His suggestion piques your interest, but something in the back of your mind tells you that maybe you don’t want to hear what he has to offer you. “Your grades probably don’t make your family very proud right now, but I’m confident it’s just a lack of motivation. You were in Class A before and I can get you transferred back.” You scrunch your eyebrows together at the bridge of your nose, why would you possibly want to transfer back? Why would Asano want you to transfer back? So he has more opportunities to bully you?

“I talked to my father and he said your grades are actually good enough to get you transferred into class C, maybe even B. However, he prefers to keep you in class E, something about the hierarchy in the school system” Hierarchy, what a fucking joke. You don’t feel pressured to transfer back into class A, you’re quite content in class E. Your grades have improved a lot due to Korosensei’s teaching; your parents are happy with your grades as long as you pass your exams at the end of the year.

Your new classmates are so much nicer to you compared to your old ones, there’s no hostility and instead of putting each other down for receiving a bad grade, everyone is rather encouraging. The teachers don’t look down on you and you absolutely cannot fathom why you’d willingly subject yourself to the torture that is sharing a building with people who hate every bit of your being. On top of that, you’d have to give up your free time, as class E allows you to study and also have time for fun and hobbies outside of school. The idea of having to spend every waking minute with your nose in the books just so you can outsmart your classmates saps away at your energy.

“And what would I be doing in return for that?” You decide to humor the redhead. His eyes light up as he tries to fight back the smile creeping up on his lips, the characteristically cold uncaring attitude melting away like snow in front of the sun. It’s most likely due to the alcohol, you figure. He must have drunk quite a lot by the looks of it.

“Simple,” the smile grows even wider. “I’d just like for us to get to know each other better.” The words sound innocent enough, but the glint in his eyes is dangerous. He leans closer and you feel repulsed, although you manage to keep a straight face. You cross your arms over your chest to make sure there’s at least a little distance in between the two of you.

“You want to go… on a date?” You carefully guess. The idea is absurd to you, why in the world would he ever want to go on a date with you? Karma’s theory pops into your head, maybe he actually does like you. You have trouble imagining Asano as anything other than your bully and frankly you don’t even want to know what it’s like to have him pamper you. 

“A date? Oh no, I think you have the wrong idea.” The sinister smile on his face sends shivers down your spine and you’re reminded of his normal attitude. You have no idea what he’s getting at, but you can already feel you’re not going to like it one bit. 

“Then what do you mean? You don’t want to just hang out, do you?” Asano’s gaze slowly trails down your body, drinking in every detail of your appearance. His gaze lingers a little too long on the exposed skin of your legs, and suddenly a funny feeling settles in your stomach. You feel naked in front of him, only covered by your shorts and the shirt and realization dawn on you. 

“No.” You tell him, refusing before he can even utter the suggestion. You’re repulsed by the idea of having Asano touch you, your image of him having forever been ruined. You guess if he tried to change you could maybe become friends again, but never more than that. You would never be able to trust him after all he’s put you through. You’re wildly uncomfortable as his eyes rake over every single inch of exposed skin.

“I have a boyfriend,” you quickly inform the redhead, “and even if I didn’t, I still wouldn’t want to sleep with you.” You glare at him, arms crossed tighter over your chest to prevent his stare from undressing you. Asano doesn’t bother to look at your face anymore, his eyes lingering on your thighs. The urge to leave grows stronger and you don’t want to waste any more time on this conversation. 

You take a step to your right, attempting to move around the guy. However, a hand grabs onto the bottom of your shirt. You tense up, discomfort settling into the pit of your stomach. You quickly move your hand to grab onto Asano’s, preventing him from pulling the shirt up. What you don’t expect is for him to pull the fabric downwards instead.

The collar of the shirt plunges down, revealing Karma’s mark to him. You watch on in shock as Asano presses a nimble finger to the purple spot on your collarbone. You wince, hissing through your teeth as he applies pressure onto the fresh bruise. You place your free hand on his shoulder, pushing against him to get him off. He doesn’t budge, but you’re too afraid to let go of the hand grasping onto the hemline of your shirt.

“Let. Go.” You growl through gritted teeth, keeping your voice down. You don’t want to cause a ruckus, but if he actually tries something you’ll definitely scream. Your body screams at you to call for help already, but the fear of someone in class A getting involved holds you back. Asano let’s out a short scoff in disbelief.

“You know, I was just teasing you when I said that you were a slut, but would you look at that! The little prude is actually whoring herself out, who would’ve thought.” Your eyebrows knit together at his crude words, nose scrunched up. Angers starts to boil in your stomach and you feel all of the frustration accumulate. 

Fury grows and finally overtakes the fear he’s instilled in you. You’re done with letting him have this much control over you. It happens in a split second, your mind clouded over. One moment your hand is on his shoulder, the next it’s connected to his cheek in a harsh slap. The sound resonates through the hallway as you breathe heavily. Your eyes bore into his, full of hatred and disgust for the boy who has been terrorizing you for months.

Asano recovers from the shock and grabs your hand, interlacing your fingers in an ironically romantic manner, although he squeezes it with so much vigor that it hurts. You visibly wince at the force as you try to wriggle your fingers free from his grasp. You twist your wrist, but he doesn’t let go and you’re afraid your fingers will break if you angle your arm any further. Asano ignores your attempt, even though it must be uncomfortable for him as well, and just continues talking.

“You’ve been acting so defiant, I bet you’re itching for me to show you your place. We talked about that before, remember? I bet you’re just trying to anger me so I don’t hold back. I hope you’re into bondage, because you definitely need to be restricted.” The smell of alcohol on his breath washes over your face as he leans impossibly close. You frantically move your head to the left, avoiding the menacing grin directed at you.

Your blood runs cold as Asano continues rambling on and on about the ways in which he’s going to defile you. Fear is ignited inside of you as the fingers on your hand grow ever tighter, panic instilled in you as you rake through your mind for a way to get him to let go. Karma’s words echo through your mind, remembering your last ‘lesson’. You aren’t going to let him walk all over you again and give him what he wants. If it’s your distress and submission he gets off on, you’ll just have to show him how feisty you can be. He has no right violating you like this.

Suddenly, you throw your head forwards and violently knock your body into Asano’s. Your head harshly comes into contact with his chin and you’re just in time to witness the absolute surprise in his eyes at your actions.

The alcohol in Asano’s system obscures him from keeping his balance as he stumbles backwards, tripping over the carpet. His back meets the grey wall on the opposite end of the hallway with a loud thud. You wouldn’t be surprised if there’d be a dent, judging from the noise. He slowly brings up his hand, touching it to the back of his head and winces in pain at the contact. 

“That’s what I think of your proposal.” You spit at him. It feels good to finally stick up for yourself. Your gaze is stuck to his body as he looks at the floor in a daze. His eyes are a little unfocused and for a moment you’re scared you’ve gone too far. However, Asano shakes his head and blinks furiously, recognition coming back to him.

There is no blood anywhere and you deem him stable enough. You don’t feel bad about leaving the redhead behind as you turn around. You’re confident the sound of Asano’s back hitting the wall was loud enough to attract someone’s attention and you’re not willing to wait around long enough for that someone to find you.

If it’s anyone from outside of class E, you’re sure they’ll take Asano’s side. You’d prefer not to face expulsion, so you quickly make your way back to the boys’ room. Upon arriving you knock on the wood in a particular rhythm. The door opens almost immediately, Rio’s concerned face poking around the entrance.

“What took you so long?” the blonde asks, the bottle in her hand containing significantly less fluid than when you left. You shake your head and quickly follow her through the opening.

“Oh, just ran into someone from class A. We used to be friends, so we had a little…” You look for the correct word, “chat.” You’re proud to admit your lies have started to become more convincing, and nobody questions you on your story. Although it might also be due to the fact that every single one of your friends is positively intoxicated. 

Your eyes search for Karma’s and when they meet his gaze, he has one of his eyebrows quirked up. Okay, so maybe one of your drunk friends is catching on to your lies, but you still have a long way to go until you can get away with lying to the master of deceit himself.

The redhead pats his muscular thigh and you don’t hesitate as you take up your spot in his lap once more. His arms are around you no sooner that you’ve settled and you let out a sigh. You rest against his warm body as he places a soft kiss in the junction between your neck and shoulder.

“Were you gonna explain yourself?” His hushed whisper sounds in your ear. You look around the room, your friends are all blissfully unaware of your nervousness, happily chatting away with each other as they drink from the bottle, the game long forgotten. You cast an uncomfortable glance at the door, half expecting either a teacher or the Five Virtuosos to barge through the wood at any second. Fortunately, there is no sound from outside of the room and you try to shake the feeling from your shoulders, allowing yourself to relax in Karma’s hold.

“I’ll tell you about it later.” You whisper back, and he seems content with that for now, but you know you’ll have some explaining to do tomorrow. If your hangover doesn’t kill you first that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you look at that, it's a new chapter! I wasn't going to write anything, but all of the comments on the last chapter gave me a sudden burst of motivation. This chapter is a little shorter than the previous ones (and I also didn't proofread, which I usually do), but I really wanted to get out one last chapter before 2020 hits. I want to thank everyone for giving this fic so much love and support, it makes me so incredibly happy! 
> 
> I'm nearing the end of the plot I'd thought out, but I am contemplating whether I should change up the ending and extend the story a little more. I guess I'd just feel so empty if I ended the story so abruptly. So if there's anything you'd like to see in the next chapters, please don't hesitate to let me know, now's your time!
> 
> Happy Chrysler, everyone.


	11. Little Miss Goody Two Shoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skipping class? How very unethical of you...

A blaring noise abruptly rips you away from an already forgotten dream. You drowsily open your eyes and look around for the source of the commotion in a haze. The sound becomes sharper and you register an unfamiliar ringtone or alarm.

Sleep starts to lose its hold on you and suddenly you’re aware of a warm chest pressed against your back. An arm is lazily draped across your waist and you squirm around, taking a look at the person cozying up to your backside. You follow along the arm with your eyes, familiar moles and freckles a telltale sign of your new boyfriend. The red tufts sticking out untamed confirm your suspicion and you relax, sinking back into the matrass, still too tired to function completely.

You don’t remember climbing into bed, or falling asleep for that matter, but you’d be lying if you said you were uncomfortable. You enjoy the close proximity and warmth that emits from Karma as his breath softly hits your neck. 

Your eyes are closed again, but the noise is only increasing in volume. Can someone please turn it off already? You open your eyes again and take a look around the room from your position on a bottom bunkbed. 

Other people are waking up as well; Nagisa is softly shaking a sleepy Kayano while Kanzaki rises from the top of the bunkbed opposite of you. The blanket is pulled upwards in her movement, revealing Rio’s tired face. She grumbles something to Kanzaki and turns around, covering her ears with a pillow.

On the floor Sugino has made himself comfortable on a blanket, his outstretched arm serving as a makeshift pillow for Maehara, who is still deep asleep, sprawled out like a starfish. There’s a bit of drool leaking from the corner of his mouth and you hope Sugino notices it in time as you’re too tired to warn him. Judging by Isogai’s absence on the floor you assume he’s still asleep in the bed above you.

“Someone please shut off that alarm or I’ll shove the phone down their throat!” Rio raises her voice, temporarily uncovering her face. Below you, Sugino opens one of his eyes and blinks, adjusting to the bright light shining in his face through the slit in one of the curtains. He looks to the side and quickly pulls his arm out from underneath the blonde.

“Dude, gross! Your spit is on my arm!” He complains as Maehara finally stirs from his deep slumber. 

“Hmmmwhat?” He groggily croaks in response.

“Maehara, can you please turn off that alarm?” A voice pleads from above you. So Isogai is awake too. The blonde reaches for his phone and swipes across the screen, effectively putting an end to the cacophony. The arm around your waist tightens as you’re pulled even further backwards.

“Finally,” Karma rasps. “I was about to slit someone’s throat.” You chuckle at his attitude, ever the violent demeanor.

“Well, good morning to you too. I hope it’s not my throat you were talking about.” You feel Karma exhale through his nose in amusement. The arm around your body is released and you feel two fingers softly trace your throat.

“Of course not, I meant Maehara.” The arm returns to loop around your waist as Karma presses his face into your hair, mumbling something incoherent. You shift your focus to the other side of the room. Kayano is up, her face beet red in realization of exactly who she shared a bed with last night. You send a wink in her direction.

“Guys, we’re supposed to meet up for breakfast in the hall downstairs in thirty. If anyone wants to take a shower, now’s your last chance.” Isogai warns, ever the diligent class president. You still have to sneak back to your own room to get dressed and gather your things, so you lift the blanket from your body and slide towards the edge of the mattress. Suddenly, a muscular arm connects with your abdomen and harshly pulls you back into a warm chest.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Karma whispers deviously into your ear.

“I need to get dressed, so if you could let me go, that would be appreciated.” You tug at his arm, but Karma doesn’t budge. Instead he throws one of his legs over your own in an attempt to keep you in his grasp. 

“The other girls haven’t gotten up either, staying a little longer won’t hurt anyone.” You want to complain, but you’re really comfortable. You’d have stayed in bed for the rest of the morning if your schedule allowed it, but unfortunately it doesn’t.

“I still want to take a shower, so get your little gremlin hands off me before I bite you.” Karma chuckles at your threat and releases his hold on your body. You quickly slide your legs over the edge of the bed and stand up. You turn around to look at the redhead, his unkempt locks sprawled across the pillow as he stares up at you through lidded eyes.

“Don’t think you can get away with calling my hands ‘little gremlin hands’ so easily. And to clarify, I’m only letting you go because your shirt reeks of booze, go take your shower.” Softly, your fist connects to his bare shoulder peeking out from under the blanket as you shake your head. 

After your shower you walk downstairs to the breakfast hall. Most of your friends are already seated and you quickly steal the empty spot next to Rio. She looks like she’s about to faceplant into the bowl in front of her, the hangover all over her expression. She turns her head to look at you, a grin playing at the corner of her lips.

“Hey there, sleeping beauty.” You greet and the blonde rolls her eyes at you. “You know, you’re really charming when you wake up, yelling threats at other people. Although I honestly believe Maehara thinks it’s hot instead of scary.” 

“I don’t care what he thinks, I just wanted him to shut down that alarm. My headache is killing me. Speaking of sleeping, you looked pretty comfortable yourself.” You grin sheepishly at her comment, stabbing a piece of egg with your fork.

“Well, I’m not gonna deny it, I didn’t really mind waking up next to Karma.” You admit, eyes still focused on the breakfast in front of you. Rio clicks her tongue at your comment.

“Babe, you wouldn’t even have minded if you’d woken up crushed underneath his body because he’d decided it was more comfortable for him that way. Whenever you’re around Karma you exude pure bottom energy. You should’ve seen yourself last night, you let him manhandle you all the way through the evening, that’s not like you! You’re completely smitte-“ You quickly cover Rio’s mouth before her loud voice can embarrass you even more. Not everyone needs to know about that. Her tongue darts out to lick your hand and you quickly release her, wiping your fingers on the tablecloth.

“Ew, don’t do that.” You complain. “And what if I don’t mind things like that? He’s my boyfriend after all.” Your bottom lip is caught between your teeth as you stare at Rio expectantly. Her mouth opens and she tilts her head in surprise.

“Fucking finally, took you long enough! The sexual tension was so strong, I could have choked on it. I’m glad he’s not just using you; I was honestly starting to get a little suspicious of his intentions, but apparently that was not necessary.” A smile replaces her surprise and she quickly stuffs a piece of bacon into her face. “Now, stop murdering your eggs and eat something. I bet you’re gonna need all the energy you can get with a guy like Karma, he has quite the stamina, if you know what I’m getting at.” You resist the urge to stab the blonde with your fork and shove some of the scrambled eggs into your mouth.

Suddenly your head is tugged backwards as a hand grabs hold of your hair. You let out a surprised yelp, dread settling in the pit of your stomach as you slowly trail your gaze up to take a look at your assailant. You expect the Five Virtuosos, but instead you’re greeted with Karma’s lopsided grin.

“You suck.” Your nose scrunches up in a faux sneer, but you can’t help the smile playing at the corner of your lips. Karma quickly bends down to place a kiss on your forehead before releasing your hair. “Is this how you greet your girlfriend? I might have to report you for abusive behavior.” You jokingly threaten, the smile still on your face. Karma mimics your expression and your heart flutters at the smugness in his smile.

“Oh baby, you should’ve considered that before agreeing to dating a sadist.” Karma steps away from you, your gaze trailing after his form as he takes a seat opposite of you. You’re about to catapult a retort in his direction, but a group of guys catches your attention. The Five Virtuosos stroll into the breakfast hall as if they own the place, not bothering to greet the hostel’s employees and laughing loudly. 

Ren Sakakibara leads the pack to an empty table. You’re surprised to see Asano trailing after the other guys, lost in thought. Your eyes focus on his hunched over figure when he suddenly straightens his back, eyes boring into your own. A lump form in your throat, but you can’t bring yourself to look away. Anxiously, you await his next move, but all he does is lower his head again in favor of ignoring you. Your eyes only leave him when he has taken a seat at the table, back facing your direction. You accidentally catch the gaze of the Five Virtuosos’ resident pretty boy, Ren. His face scrunches up as he mouths an insult at you. Nothing new there.

You’re snapped out of your daze when Rio waves her hand in front of your face. You give her a questioning look, not at all having listened to what she was going on about. 

“Okay, so this is the third time I called your name already. I know redheads are your thing, but you have Karma right here, so I’d suggest you stop fantasizing about Asano. Can I have the rest of your eggs? Well, the massacre you’ve left behind, I mean.” You roll your eyes and shove what’s left of the thoroughly slaughtered breakfast on your plate in Rio’s direction. 

After breakfast, Korosensei gathers the class outside of the hostel. He’s going to tour everyone around the historically interesting parts of the city. You’re tired, but the weather is nice and you welcome the fresh air. The class slowly trails after Korosensei, the tail of the group consists of all your hungover friends. 

The walk is further than you’d expected and due to the crosswalks and stoplights the train of classmates is slowly stretching out. You’re trailing behind the others at the end of the group with Karma, even Kayano and Nagisa have passed the two of you already.

“Come on, we need to sprint, the light is turning red any second now.” Karma starts running and you break into a jog, but you don’t have the energy to sprint anymore and right before you can cross the street cars start to accelerate. You shoot Karma an apologetic look as he waits on the other side, arms crossed over each other. When the light finally turns green again you quickly cross.

“We’re getting left behind and we have no idea where we’re supposed to go. Let’s move it.” Karma says, a little irritation in his voice. “If you don’t hurry up I’m carrying you there.” You think about it for a moment. You’re pretty tired and being carried doesn’t sound that bad, besides, what girl hasn’t secretly dreamed of being swept off her feet?

“You know what, that sounds pretty good actually.” Karma gives you a strange look before he approaches you. 

“I don’t know what you’re envisioning, but I didn’t mean some romantic bridal style bullshit. If you don’t get going, I’m throwing you over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I don’t care if you’re embarrassed. Your call.” Something about being treated like a sack of potatoes in front of onlookers doesn’t sit well with you and you decide against voicing any more complaints. You grab Karma’s hand and start jogging again, pulling the redhead after you. 

Eventually you catch up with the rest of your classmates, not missing the look of disapproval Korosensei shoots in your direction. You follow along like a well-behaved student for the duration of the walk until you arrive at a museum dedicated to the history of Japan. Korosensei ushers everyone inside, your peers slowly moving to gather around in the entrance hall.

“A history museum, really? I can’t even count how many times we’ve done something like this already. The guy who comes up with the curriculum must not find any enjoyment in life anymore.” Karma pulls on your hand, leading you somewhat away from the group to a glass display filled with beautifully decorated pots and pans.

You listen as Korosensei announces you’ll have guides tour your class around in small groups. His tentacles appoint a couple of students to be in the first group as he’ll be acting as a guide as well. Your teacher instructs the rest of you to divide yourselves into small groups and wait for the guides to start their tours. 

You’re still at the cabinet, studying a peculiar pattern on one of the chipped bowls when Karma grabs your hand, leading you into a hallway with a bathroom sign. You send him a confused look.

“What are you doing?” You question him, but follow along anyway. 

“This is our chance, lets ditch ‘em while there are no teachers around.” You don’t want to sit through another boring tour, having to pretend you’re interested, but on the other hand you’d feel bad for Korosensei and the guide if you discredited their effort.

“I don’t know. I’d feel a bit guilty if we skipped.” You admit, looking at your hands to avoid your gaze. Karma clicks his tongue in disapproval, he’s never had any qualms about skipping classes. He must think you’re such a goody two shoes.

“Come on, it’s gonna be fun. If we get caught, we’ll tell Korosensei I kidnapped you. He tends to blow my behavior out of proportion anyway and you don’t usually skip, so he’ll happily shift the blame on me.” You know that’s definitely not true, even though your alien teacher does have a penchant for overreacting, but how can you say no to Karma when he’s asking you with such a sweet smile?

“Okay then, just this once. I don’t condone this behavior, young man!” You imitate Korosensei, exaggeratingly shaking your head as you try your best to keep a stern face. The two of you wait until all of your classmates have left with a tour guide before sneaking out through the main entrance. The sun feels warm on your skin and the little bit of guilt and unease quickly falls off your shoulders.

You’re unfamiliar in the city, but Karma lets you choose where you want to go. You recall of the cozy looking cafes you passed on your walk to the museum, but in the end you decide to spend some time at the large park near the city center. As it is a school day, the park is mostly filled with joggers and parents with young children, but you don’t mind as it means there are plenty of isolated spots around.

Karma takes off his jacket, spreading it on the ground as a makeshift blanket. You follow his example and sit down on your own jacket. As soon as you’re settled comfortably, Karma’s phone dings. You watch as he pulls the phone from his back pocket, a small smile on his face as he types something.

“Nagisa was wondering where we’re at. He was in the last group and it was kind of obvious we took off, but don’t worry about it, I asked him to cover for us if Korosensei asks any questions.” There is a sense of relief at the promise of your friend having your back and you tell yourself to just relax and enjoy the sunlight on your skin. “Now tell me, what was all that about yesterday? You said you met up with an ‘old friend’?” the redhead inquires. 

“Oh yeah, that. Well, it wasn’t really an old friend to be honest.” You admit, recalling last night’s events. “It was Asano. He was drunk and-“

“Wait, he was what? I don’t believe you!” Karma’s eyes are wide, his lips slightly parted in surprise. There’s a clear look of disbelief on his face, but his silence urges you to continue.

“You should, because I’m telling the truth. He wanted to make a proposal.” You watch as Karma’s left eyebrow is pulled upwards, your words having piqued his interest. “He said he could get me out of class E in exchange for uh... sex. I said no, obviously.” You quickly inform your boyfriend of your refusal, unsure of how he’ll react. 

“I told you that’s what he’s after!” Karma claps his hand together, a wide grin on his face, even though you feel to see how the situation is funny. “And you didn’t trust me on it. Jesus, to think he’d just blatantly ask you for sex. He’s such a dick for holding his status above your head like that. If it weren’t for his father, he’d be a nobody.” You nod your head in agreement.

“Yeah, and he was kind of adamant about it too. So, naturally, I slapped him in the face and then headbutted him.” You can’t help the smug smile stretching from ear to ear, it feels good to talk about what happened. Karma’s eyes are wide for a moment before he abruptly bursts out in laughter.

“That’s my girl. I’m proud of you.” The smile on his face is genuine as he shares your excitement in finally standing up for yourself. You feel warmth spreading from your head to your toes at Karma’s approval. The redhead reaches for his backpack and fishes out a white box. He holds the packaging in front of you, the label reads Pocky.

“Wanna play?” he asks. You watch intently as he rips open the plastic, inserting the chocolate covered stick into his mouth. He leans forwards and you copy his actions with a playful wink. You quickly bow your head and take a big bite off the other end, pulling back rapidly.

“No.” You muse with a sly smile.

“Ah, come on. It’s fun.” You hadn’t taken Karma for a cheesy games kind of guy, but then again, a challenge was a challenge to him. Anything remotely resembling a game caught his interest. If it’s something he can prove he’s the best at, he’ll go for it.

“Okay then.” You say, pulling one of the sweet snacks out from the packaging in Karma’s hand. You pop the chocolate covered end into your mouth as Karma leans closer. He opens his mouth, but suddenly pulls the pocky from your mouth, placing his lips on yours instead. You’re a little shocked, but kiss him back nonetheless. He tastes like chocolate. When he’s satisfied, he leans back, resting on his elbows as he takes a bite of the snack in his hand.

The box is still in his hand and you reach for it, but he holds it away from you. You lift your eyebrow at him and he challengingly copies your expression. You surprise him by throwing your leg over his body, straddling him. He has an amused look on his face while he stares up at you, daring you to do something.

The pocky is out of your range and instead of reaching for it you swoop down to catch Karma’s lips in a kiss. His thighs are firm as you make yourself comfortable on his lap, trailing your fingers along his arm. One of your eyes opens as you take note of the white box in the grass, still out of your reach as Karma favors running his free hand up and down your back, resting his weight on the other.

Suddenly you lunge forward and reach for the box. Your fingers grab onto the bottom part and you quickly sit back up, not caring to get off of your boyfriend as you shake a chocolate stick from the packaging. Chewing contently on the snack you do a little victory dance with your arms while staring triumphantly at the calculating expression on Karma’s face. He doesn’t make any sudden moves, but his eyes hold a dangerous glint.

“Careful now, you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.” His voice is deeper than normal and there’s a certain playfulness to his tone. You can’t help but feel a little turned on at the sensual wording.

“Oh really?” you challenge, putting another pocky into your mouth, taking extra care to run your tongue along the chocolate for him to see. Karma shifts his arm and you rapidly close the box. Without thinking you pull on the collar of your shirt and drop the snack down the fabric, the box safely pressed against your chest.

“It’s cute that you think I won’t take it from there.” It’s almost a threat.

“We’re out in public. Would you like to get arrested for indecent exposure?” You retort. 

“How about we find out whether you’re into exhibitionism?” Karma leans up, his nose almost touching yours, and pushes on your shoulder, making you fall back. You rest your back on the soft grass and cross your arms over your chest, securing the box in place as you watch him cage you in. 

“Cornering me? Definitely never seen that from you before…” You add sarcastically, although in truth there is no one you’d rather give the control to than him. Karma contemplates his next action as you stare up at him. 

“Are you sure you want to challenge me like that, babe?” Your heart skips a beat at the rasp in his voice and you feel heat pool in your stomach. One of his arms holds up his body as he hovers above you, the other reaching for the hem of your shirt. You suck in a sharp breath as his fingertips trail underneath the fabric. Goosebumps race across your skin as his nails trace patterns into your abdomen.

You don’t miss the way his gaze shifts from your exposed skin to the arms crossed over your chest, still hiding the box underneath your shirt, until his eyes meet your face. Karma’s eyes are half lidded and you chew your lower lip in anticipation. 

“Give up. You can’t eat them like that anyway.” You’re enjoying your little predicament a little too much as your mind starts going places, imagining all the things Karma wouldn’t be above doing to you in public. A shiver races down your spine as his fingers run over a particularly sensitive area on your side.

“What happens if I don’t?” Your voice is playful but timid as you lick your dry lips. Karma’s attention shifts to your mouth and then back to your eyes. His expression shifts into something evil and you can practically hear the gears turning in his head.

“If you don’t… I’m going back to the museum.”

“Wait, what?” You blurt out in disbelief.

“If you like the punishment, it isn’t really a punishment at all, is it?” You scrunch up your nose in annoyance. He can be so unfair sometimes.

“Well, that’s not what I expected, kind off anticlimactic. If I hand them back, will you share?” Karma nods and you reach a hand into your shirt, pulling the box out. As soon as it is in sight, Karma retreats his hand from underneath your shirt and snatches the packaging right out of your fingers. You’re about to protest, however, the ringtone of Karma’s phone interrupts you. He fishes the phone out from his back pocket and swipes his thumb across the screen.

“Hey pipsqueak!” You roll your eyes at the nickname Karma gave Nagisa and wait for him to finish his conversation. Apparently, the tour is almost over and everyone is allowed to roam around the city for a little while before everyone is supposed to gather back at the hostel. You’re really glad you skipped the museum; you wouldn’t have wanted to spend your morning any other way.

That evening all of your peers have packed their belongings, finally riding the train back to Kunugigaoka. The compartment is filled with class E students as the other students get to travel in more luxurious compartments, but you don’t mind. You’re chatting away with your friends, giggling at something Kayano said when Korosensei calls for everyone’s attention.  
You’re only tuning in with half of your attention, the other on Karma sitting opposite of you. Your teacher goes on a tangent about how much fun, but most importantly, how educational the trip turned out to be. You don’t pay much attention to the miniature lecture until Korosensei’s face turns a different shade.

“I’m proud of all of my students, except for a certain few. I’m glad you enjoyed yourselves, but some of you broke the regulations…” You’re mortified as Korosensei proceeds to list the names of all the friends you drank with yesterday night. “All of you will stay behind every day after class next week to clean the building.” You hope that night was worth it…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? A new chapter??? 
> 
> So I thought I was originally going to end the story here, but I've come to love working on this fic too much. I'm trying to adjust the storyline and extend it a little further as I can't say goodbye just yet. This chapter was full of fluff to compromise for the last chapter. As I'm still working on the storyline, I'm open to any suggestions (as to what you'd like to read about regarding the reader's relationship with Karma) as I struggle with trying to make this fic not boring. The chapter is also a bit of a filler, but I just love writing the teasing (and kinda sexually frustrated) side of Karma. I hope you enjoyed!


	12. Good intentions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have to face the punishment for breaking Korosensei's rules, but what awaits you is far worse than you'd expected.

You watch with a pout on your lips as most of your classmates start to pack their belongings and put on their coats. As more students pour out of the classroom you sit in your chair, feet kicking as you sulk in your own despair. You definitely do not feel like cleaning today.

A part of you regrets breaking Korosensei’s rules during the trip, but if you could redo that evening you would certainly have made the same decisions. You don’t regret the red and purple splotches on your skin that are finally starting to fade. You should get Karma to leave you some new ones.

As your mind starts to trail to all the possible ways you could spice up cleaning a classroom with your boyfriend a foot kicks your chair, making the elbow holding up your chin scoot forwards. You mentally prepare yourself to scowl at the person daring to interrupt your daydreams, but your face softens up at the sight of a sweet smile framed by green pigtails.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” Kayano asks in a heavy accent. Air escapes through your nose in a laugh.

“Not cleaning the classroom, that’s for sure.” 

“I don’t doubt that.” You watch as the petite girl takes a seat on your desk, legs slowly swinging as more of your friends gather around. Karma pushes his chair until it’s almost touching yours. You feel yourself giving him heart eyes as his large palm rests slightly above your knee.

“I see all of my delinquents have gathered!” Korosensei’s voice booms, his words are of disappointment, but his tone is light-hearted. You hadn’t expected any different from your teacher. He gestures wildly with his tentacles as he points out everything you did on the trip that went against his expectations in a negative way. As he continues flailing around, the door to your classroom opens and Mister Karasuma steps inside. His expression is unreadable as always. He stands still in the doorway and listens to Korosensei’s scolding.

“I only see fit that upon soiling my pride and trust as a teacher you will help me by cleaning every last corner of this building throughout the entirety of this week. We will start with the classroom and the adjacent hallway with the lockers. I have divided you into two different groups.” Everyone groans as the prospect of spending their free afternoon in the dusty old school building. At least you’re with a big group, so you expect to be done early and otherwise at least have some fun.

“Mister Karasuma will be here to supervise as you’ve already proven you can’t be trusted on your own. You’ll have to earn the right to clean without supervision.” Okay, scratch having some fun. You glance over at the tall man looming in the doorway. His empty expression is almost a scowl and you feel the energy being drained from your body as you already know he’s going to be strict and petty if any spot is left untouched. You quietly sigh and puff out your cheeks in annoyance. The hand on your knee suddenly squeezes reassuringly and you’re just in time to catch Karma’s smile. He probably already has a plan to get out of this little predicament.

“The first group will be cleaning this classroom and consists of Nagisa, Isogai, Kanzaki and Sugino.” Which automatically means you’re in the hallway with Karma. On top of that, Mister Karasuma can’t continuously keep an eye on both groups. Maybe this is going to be fun after all. You place your hand on top of Karma’s and squeeze back.

“The hallway group consists of Maehara, Kayano, Nakamura and Karma. I have already gathered the supplies; they’ll be waiting for you against the lockers. There’s also a set of instructions present, I trust you’ll follow them blindly. I want every last inch to sparkle when I come back from France.” You’re surprised your teacher skipped your name, will you be cleaning somewhere on your own?

“You forgot to mention which group I’m in, Korosensei.” You state, looking at your teacher expectantly. A change in expression flickers on his face, but he keeps his yellow colour. 

“I would never forget one of my dear students!” He dramatically exclaims. “I’d like to have a word with you. Everyone else, go get your supplies from the hallway and return after reading the instructions.” You’re a little confused as your friends stand up and trail after one another into the hallway. Karma gives your leg one last squeeze before he too straightens his back and disappears through the doorway. Mister Karasuma follows the boy and closes the door behind him. Anxiety starts to bubble up in your stomach as you have no idea what Korosensei could possibly want to talk to you about in private.

“Is something wrong?” You question. Korosensei puts on a smile, but you get the hunch it’s tinted with pity. 

“Don’t worry, nothing is wrong. Your grades are improving again, but not at the rate they could be, which is why you’ll be assigned a tutor.” The words come as a surprise to you. You were doing rather well, a drastic improvement compared to the way your grades suddenly dropped during your time in class A. You agree they could be better, but you’d have to give up some free time and you promised yourself you would give yourself space to enjoy hobbies instead of becoming a class A zombie.

You’re not really up for a tutor, but considering Karma is the only eligible student in your class to tutor another classmate, you think you’ll be fine. The problem is that you probably won’t be doing much studying if it’s your distractingly handsome boyfriend who is supposed to help you improve.

“Alright, I think I might benefit from a tutor. Although I have to admit I’m not really aiming to get back to class A.” You quickly inform Korosensei of your ambitions as you don’t intent to get transferred out of class E. Class E is the only reason your grades have actually started recovering and you’re not miserable like you were in your old class anymore.

“I’m glad you agree as I am not the one who decided on this after all.” You don’t really get what Korosensei is getting at. Who else would bother to assign you a tutor? The headmaster definitely keeps an eye on class E’s overall grades, but he’s also the one who put this wretched system into place and he has no reason to aid you in such a manner. Then it clicks.

“It’s Asano, isn’t it?” You guess. Korosensei nods, confirming your suspicion. That fucker, of course it would be him. Who else would be willing to go to such lengths to torment you? Korosensei places two folded tentacles on the desk in front of you.

“Class A’s top students are setting up a project to give back to the school that has helped them come so far. They want to start tutoring class E’s students to help improve the grade average. The headmaster was delighted with the idea and immediately agreed.” You grind your teeth together as you try to stay calm and composed. Not only is Asano going to receive extra credit, which is going to look really good on his college application, it will also create yet another possibility for him to bully you. 

Everyone else will look at this as the kindness of his heart, but he is just leaching from your reputation and somehow making this whole system work against you even more. He’s going to do the ungrateful class E gremlin a favor. You don’t miss the skeptical look on Korosensei’s face.

“I wish I could change it, but they were the headmaster’s orders and I’m powerless against that.” You nod in understanding as Korosensei always does what he believes is best for his students, you don’t doubt he tried his best to get you out of the situation. “You’re the first student to be tutored from class E, because the headmaster wants to see whether this setup actually does anything to improve your grades, which is why you won’t be cleaning with your peers.”

“Wait, you don’t mean the tutoring starts right now, do you?” The anxiety rises up in the back of your throat again and you clench your fists in frustration.

“I’m afraid you’re right. At least you won’t have to partake in the cleaning today. You can leave whenever you’re ready. You’re expected at the main building at three ‘o clock. I’ll be heading to Paris for some macarons now.” Your teacher must have seen the worried look on your face as he places a sympathetic tentacle on your shoulder. “I know this is tough, but I am confident you can handle this in a mature way.” Korosensei gives you one last smile before taking off in a flash.

You absentmindedly shove all your books into your backpack, there’s a weight in your stomach as the unease grows. Is this Asano’s way to get back at you for that night during the trip? You had been too gullible to believe he’d let you off without any consequences. As you sling the bag over your shoulder there is a noise coming from the hallway. You hear footsteps approaching, accompanied by Sugino’s stifled laughter and the stern voice of Mister Karasuma scolding your friends. 

The door opens and the classroom team enters with Mister Karasuma in tow. They are whispering among themselves until they spot the frown on your face, their smiles dropping immediately to make place for concern. Isogai takes a step towards you with a worried expression, but Mister Karasuma crosses his arms over each other as he stares at Isogai. Undoubtedly, he is aware of the situation. You quickly shoot your classmates an apologetic smile and dash through the door. You’ll explain everything later.

Luckily, the hallway team is around the corner of the faculty room, which means you won’t have to pass them. Their voices ring out and you hear Kayano’s high pitched whine followed by Maehara’s infectious laughter. Cleaning your school building suddenly sounds heavenly to your ears and you feel a little jealous of your friends at least getting to spend time together.

You quietly close the front door on your way out. The weather is nice today, there’s a soft breeze tussling the trees as summer is coming to an end. The fresh air feels nice on your face and the walk down the trail to the main building seems much shorter than usual. The path is quiet as only class E has a reason to climb up the mountain and you debate just going for a long peaceful walk instead of facing Asano’s wrath, but in the end you don’t want to disappoint Korosensei even more.

There is a small vibration in your pocket and you instinctively reach for your phone. The blue light in the corner is blinking to indicate a new text message. Upon unlocking the screen you are met with Karma’s name. 

“What did the octopus want from you? We have to hand in our phones now, but I’ll call you when we get them back.” A smile cracks at the corner of your lip at the concerned way Karma acts as if Korosensei was going to sell you on the black market. 

“I’ll tell you about it later, go clean!” You reply jokingly, although he probably won’t receive your message until much later. You pocket your phone again as the main building rises up in front of you. The concrete walls and small square windows are reminiscing of a prison and you already feel locked in, even outside. Upon entering the building you are met with the stone-faced receptionist at the front desk.

Her dark hair is starting to gray and has been pulled into a tight bun at the back of her head, reading glasses framing her narrowed eyes as her long fingernails click away at the keyboard. She doesn’t look up from her computer screen until you scrape your throat. She turns to you, the disinterest written plain across her face while she waits for you to speak.

“Uh, I’m here for a tutoring session with class A’s Asano?” The lady turns back to the computer screen and types something into the computer. Her eyes move down as she quickly scans over the schedule. She moves the mouse to double click something hidden from your view while you wait awkwardly at the other side of the desk, fake smile etched into your cheeks.

“Yes, he’s booked room 101. I assume you can find it on your own?” You feel like bothering the lady with any more questions then necessary isn’t going to work in your favor, so you quickly thank her and turn on your heels. You’ve attended enough classes in the main building to be able to find your way through the endless miserable hallways. It’s only one flight of stairs until you’re faced with a heavy door, the label above it reading ‘101’. You’d always joked about it being a torture chamber, but now it doesn’t feel like much of a joke anymore.

You open the door and quickly enter the room. Asano is already waiting for you at one of the desks. He has a displeased look on his face and gestures to the clock with his head. It is exactly three o’ clock, so he doesn’t have any reason to complain. Not everyone willingly shows up early to subject themselves to this punishment. 

Ignoring his wordless accusation, you intentionally take the seat across from him, knowing that one of you will probably have to move if you are actually going to get some work done. There is a small smile on your face to spite him, acting all innocent as to not give Asano any reason to attack you. You watch as Asano’s face slowly morphs into a smile of his own, but there is nothing but malice in his eyes, his lips strained to show the extend of the sympathy behind the gesticulation.

“So,” you start, folding your hands together on top of the desk. “you so kindly volunteered to tutor me and help me revive my grades.” Asano’s thin smile suddenly expands a little, some genuinity replacing the plasticity. He mimics your body language, folding his hands on the desk so that they are merely inches away from your own. He tilts his head as he leans forward a little. You want to lean away from him, but your stubbornness won’t let him intimidate you so easily, so you keep your ground.

“Yes, sometimes the more accomplished students should use their efforts to help out the unfortunate, don’t you agree?” His words are laced with venom, the hate is dripping from his every syllable. Anger starts to boil inside of you at the derogatory manner in which he addresses you, but you keep the thin-lipped smile on your face in an effort to seem unbothered. 

“I’m sure you’ve already looked into all of the areas in which I’m lacking and you have established a plan to help me on the road to recovery.” Conversing with Asano feels almost like a play, the careful way in which the two of you choose your wording to take jabs at each other without openly insulting is entertaining. In a way, you pity Asano. He seems so obsessed with hating you. If only he put that energy into being nicer, he could actually become a tolerable person. 

“What’s this? You expect me to come up with a plan? I’m sorry, but this is going to be a team effort.” You scoff at the mention of any cooperation, if there’s one person trying to make the world work against you, it’s Asano. “You’re gonna have to work for this.” There is an unsettling grin on his face and you feel shivers going down your spine at the way he emphasizes work. There is no telling what exactly the redhead is planning and having to grasp at straws is making you nervous.

“Let’s start.” Asano announces. To your surprise he pulls out a biology textbook and shoves it in your direction. There are several labels attached to some of the pages and you open the textbook to the first one. The page is an introduction to a chapter on respiratory systems. You look up at Asano in surprise as you’d already been tested on this topic last semester.

“Respiratory systems? We already had an exam on that, there’s no need to go over it now.” You complain. This is a complete waste of time. Maybe that is his plan, boring you to death while you could be using this time to have fun with friends or actually study compulsory topics for your exams at the end of this semester. However, then he would be wasting his own time as well and he has a reputation to upkeep. You lift one eyebrow at the redhead and reach for the corner of the page, but Asano quickly slams one hand down on the paper to prevent you from turning it, the sound unexpectedly loud in the otherwise quiet classroom.

“You were right to assume I looked into your previous failures. It was quite entertaining to be honest, at some points I wondered how you could be so genuinely stupid. The answers you wrote down on your test baffled me, were you just not trying anymore? You do realize all of the things we studied over the course of this year will be on the final exams, right? I suggest you start taking this seriously.” Asano leans back and reaches for something from his bag on the ground. When his hand reappears above the wooden surface of the desk, there is a small stack of papers between his fingers.

He lays the sheets in front of you and points his finger to the big red marking in the upper right corner. To your surprise it is a copy of your biology test. There is no way he’s legally allowed to obtain those, but you guess being the headmaster’s son comes with certain perks, such as access to otherwise classified files. Your eyes follow the paper to where Asano’s index finger is pressed above the red numbers.

You’d prefer to deny the fifty-two indicating your failure, but Asano seems adamant on pointing out every single mistake you made. He looks especially unimpressed at the tiny doodles of octopuses on the back of the sheet. You cross your arms over each other as you listen to Asano going over your wrong answers.

“Start reading the text and when you’re done, we’ll go back to all of the idiotic things you wrote down on your exam and we’ll see if that last braincell is still intact.” Had it been anyone else, you would have been able to laugh at that. Instead, you childishly stick out your tongue and start reading the text, happy to momentarily escape Asano’s scrutiny. 

The thought of purposely failing your exams flits through your mind. You’d get some kind of revenge by showing that Asano’s tutoring is doing nothing to help your grades, but you’re already in class E and you’re just getting your grades back on track. You don’t want to soil your reputation even further and give class A more ground to harass you on. You’d also be playing yourself as sufficient grades are a prerequisite if you want to apply for any college next year.

You start sifting through the introduction, eyes scanning over the lines as you recall cramming the information the night before the exam. No wonder you failed it, the letters are so small and the text is presented in such a boring way, you don’t understand how anyone could find genuine joy in studying this. You’re halfway through the first page when your eyes flutter up to take a glance at Asano. He’s staring at the copy of your exams, visibly trying to hold in a smile at something you wrote down. Suddenly, his eyes are on yours and you quickly avert your gaze back to the textbook.

It takes a couple more pages for the silence to be broken again. Asano sighs as he turns the papers in front of him over and reassembles them in a neat pile once more. You can feel his stare boring holes in your skull as he waits for you to finish reading the section on pulmonary vessels. His fingers tap impatiently against the wooden desk and you take a couple extra seconds to finish the last line.

“I heard you’re dating that psycho now.” You lift your eyes from the paper, giving Asano a disinterested look. The redhead is the last person you’d want to discuss your dating life with. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem willing to give up the topic. He stares at your face with one eyebrow quirked upwards, waiting for a response. Irritation creeps up your back.

“As a matter of fact, I am, although I’d prefer it if you didn’t call him that.” You state and quickly turn the page of the textbook, suddenly very interested in the exchange of gases between the blood and the body’s countless cells. As your attention is focused on the chapter, Asano places his hand over the text and slides the book towards his side of the table.

“You said you didn’t want to go over this topic again, I’m granting you an opportunity to have a nice conversation like mature people.” His voice is laced with a false sense of good intentions as he’s obviously pushing your buttons. 

“I don’t find calling my boyfriend a psychopath very mature. Now, if you’ll let me, I’d like to continue reading. The sooner we’re done with this, the better.” You reach your outstretched fingers towards the book, but Asano swiftly lifts it from the table and drops it on the desk behind him, far out of your reach. “Really? Don’t be so childish.”

“Childish? You should stop being such a stuck-up bitch.” His true personality finally shines through. Name calling is always the first step leading up to arguments and harassment. Asano leans forward again, the telltale smile tugging at the left corner of his mouth. He’s enjoying this. 

“I’m sorry.” You reply, mustering up the sweetest smile you can to throw Asano off his game. “I’ll try to be more considerate in the future, now can you please give me back the textbook? I completely agree with needing to go over the respiratory system again.” There is a displeased look on Asano’s face as he backs down again, having expected you to take the bait.

“I’m glad we both agree on you being incapable.” The redhead reaches for the book and slams it back down in front of you, the sound resonates throughout the square classroom. You try to seem unbothered as you flick through the chapter to find where you left off. The silence is heavy as you ignore the intense glare Asano is subjecting you to.

“So,” he starts. You roll your eyes at the disturbance. “How much did you pay him?” You lift your head in shock. It is difficult to stay composed as Asano continues to irk you and ask you inappropriate questions. The grin on his face grows wider as irritation starts to show in the way your eyebrows meet in a frown. Underneath the table, your fists are balled up as you try to block out his annoying voice. Your nails are digging into the flesh of your palms, but the pain distracts you from letting Asano’s words get to your head. You glance at the clock, only forty minutes have passed so far. You have no idea how long he’s planning to keep you here for, but an hour is reasonable enough. When the clock hits four, you’re gone. “Ignoring me is rude, I thought you said you’d be more considerate?”

“I didn’t pay Karma anything. Unlike you, people actually like me for my personality.” You see a swift change in expression, strong emotion flitting over those narrowed eyed of his, but it is gone as soon as it appeared. Then he sniggers, the sensation is like nails on a chalkboard.

“Don’t tell me you really believe he likes you for your personality? That is so incredibly ridiculous, everyone hated you in class A, they still do actually. I bet he’s only using you as his personal cum dumpster. He’ll get rid of you the moment an opportunity presents itself” At his words you quickly rise to your feet, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes. You’ve had enough, there’s no way you’re going to let him subject you to this bullshit any longer.

“How dare you! How fucking dare you, that’s disgusting! I bet you get off on making me cry. Isn’t it sad that harassing me is the only time you can be sure someone is genuinely reacting to you? You know what? You’re pathetic, absolutely pathetic. I don’t know what I did to deserve your hatred, but clearly you have bigger issues. Thanks for the session, see you next week.” You barely catch a glimpse at Asano’s satisfied expression as you slam the door behind you. Your teeth are clamped together as you pull out your phone, searching for Karma’s name. You’re still seething when you press his contact.

“When you read this, call me because I need you to hold me back before I commit murder.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? A new chapter? And kind of on time? I want to try uploading a chapter at least once every two weeks from now on. I'm starting to get really into writing bully Asano, but I do feel a little strange about it as I don't feel like he's really the type to bully. In AssClass, he is cold and cares about being number one, but I don't think he's actually actively bullied class E. 
> 
> I also have a bit of an issue with the way his character is portrayed in the anime. I read the manga before AssClass got animated and physically speaking I think the animators made Asano and Karma look too much alike. They have their similarities as well as their differences and I always thought Asano was taller and slimmer and had way lighter hair. I feel like they did his personality a little bit dirty by not really going into detail on his motivations in the anime, but obviously they only have very limited screen time for each minor character.
> 
> Thanks for reading and as always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter!


	13. Making a mess

“So, today I’ve decided to allow you some liberties. There won’t be anyone here to supervise you as I will be attending a fashion conference in America.” You’ve formed a semi-circle around Korosensei with the rest of your classmates in detention as you listen to your teacher briefing today’s tasks.

“He’s just gonna stand in the lingerie section and look at the models’ boobs.” Kayano whispers in your ear and you have to suppress a giggle. She’s right, why else would Korosensei attend an event on fashion? You roll your eyes and focus your attention back on your alien teacher. He ignores Kayano’s remark, although you’re certain he’s picked up her words with his extraordinary hearing abilities, and when you squint your eyes it is almost as if his skin has a slightly more pinkish hue to it.

“I will, however, return to check up on you delinquents at irregular intervals, so don’t do anything you’re not supposed to while I’m gone.” You can’t help but roll your eyes again, does Korosensei seriously expect this bunch to clean up without doing anything stupid? Telling Maehara to follow the rules is the equivalent of telling a toddler not to eat the cookie right in front of them. 

You glance over to the blonde who already has the stupidest grin on his face. Yeah, he’s definitely not planning anything… And not to mention the redhaired devil standing on your right. You don’t even have to look at him to know the gears in his head are turning. He is always coming up with the craziest ideas. A few days ago he called you at four in the morning to tell you all about his plans to fuck with Asano in revenge for the stunt he pulled.

As you had just woken up you had groggily listened to Karma enthusiastically going off on tangents about the best wasabi to stick up Asano’s nose, humming in response. You regret missing out on those precious hours of sleep, but there is no way you can deny your boyfriend like that. He’s coming up with plans to help you after all and the sound of his voice is soothing to your ears. Needless to say, you had slept through your alarm that morning and missed the first class of the day. Rio even joked you’re starting to take after Karma, Miss goody two-shoes skipping class like that.

“I will take all of your phones and other mobile devices with me, there is a phone in the teacher’s office in case of emergency. Please hand them over now, I promise I’ll return them to you after you’ve completed today’s schedule.” You reach for your phone, but the corner of the desk behind you is empty when you touch it. The floor is empty, so it couldn’t have fallen down. You sink through your knees to check the rest of the floor when suddenly a hand clamps down on your shoulder. When you crane you neck to look up, your phone is dangling between Karma’s thumb and forefinger. 

“Looking for something?” He asks, a smug smile on his face. You raise from the ground and reach for the phone, but Karma holds it up higher just as you’re about to snatch it from his hand. “Ah ah, you know better than that.” You jump in an attempt to take the phone, but the redhead pulls his arm further backwards.

“And you should know better than to steal my things!” You retaliate. Karma squints his eyes at your words.

“You know,” he starts. “I was just going to give it back after you asked me for it nicely, but with an attitude like that I’ll need something more to be able to forgive you.” You cross your arms over each other and purse your lips. You’re not exactly eager to embarrass yourself in front of your friends just to please Karma. There is a triumphant smile on his face as your expression shifts into one of defeat, but the amusement is quickly wiped from his face as a tentacle slides the phone out from Karma’s grasp.

“Karma, how many times do I have to tell you not to blackmail your classmates. If you don’t stop this behavior, I might have to make you stay after class to clean next week as well.” A tentacle slips into the right pocket of Karma’s black blazer, collecting the phone inside of it and adding it to the box of devices on the teacher’s desk. “I have to leave now. On the board is a list of everyone that needs to be done. I expect all of you to take this very seriously, or tomorrow you will be scrubbing the floors with toothbrushes. Good luck!” Korosensei takes off in a flash and you lift a sleeve in front of your face to prevent the dust from entering your eyes.

When you lower your arm again, Isogai is already at the blackboard, pulling the sheet of paper free from the magnet pinning it up and walking over to the teacher’s desk. His eyes scan over the tasks as he quietly mumbles something to himself. 

“There are just tasks on here, no names, so I guess we get to decide who teams up with who to clean. Korosensei did specify how many people should take on what task and how long it’s supposed to take.” Isogai puts the paper down and Karma immediately steps forward, seizing the list for himself. He looks disinterested as he reads through everything Korosensei has planned until he reaches the bottom of the page. There is a sudden change in expression as a glint of amusement shows in his eyes. He slams the paper back onto the wooden surface with a loud noise. You’re startled when he quickly strides over to where you’re standing and takes hold of your wrist. 

“Any objections to the two of us cleaning out the shed outside? No? Okay, cool. Good luck with the rest.” He doesn’t wait for a reply as he tugs on your arm, gesturing for you to follow him. You’re a little surprised, but happy to go along regardless. The shed is outside, next to the changing rooms, and you could definitely use some fresh air after all those hours of being locked inside that suffocating classroom.

When you reach the shed, a little doubt starts to grow in your mind. The small wooden box is stuffed full with your PE supplies and you don’t remember ever seeing it without cobwebs. The door has a lock, but with one lackadaisical kick the latch releases its hold and the hinges creak in protest. Karma holds the door open and motions for you to step inside. You flick on the light switch and a single fluorescent lamp on the low ceiling casts shadows on the concrete floor.

Three of the walls are lined with shelves, each one filled with deteriorating sports accessories and moldy softballs. In the left corner, foul smelling gloves have been thrown carelessly onto a heap. The floor is covered in a thick blanket of dust and each corner is inhabited by spiders. The shed looks like it has been abandoned for years, and quite frankly, it has. The headmaster doesn’t require the janitor or cleaners to take care of the Class E grounds, the responsibility lies with the Class E students, apparently.

“Where should we start?” You let out a deep sigh. Judging from the pile of cleaning supplies resting against the exterior of the shed, Korosensei wants the two of you to be extra thorough. “Maybe we could move everything outside so we can clean the walls and shelves.” You tilt your head to look at Karma and he shakes his head in agreement.

You watch as he takes a step forward and moves a hand to his shoulder. He slides the dark blazer down his arms and catches it before it manages to touch the ground. He throws the jacket through the open door so it lands on the soft grass outside. Your eyes follow the blazer before trailing back to Karma who is rolling up one of his sleeves, showing off the veins running underneath the soft skin. Karma has been working out and it definitely shows, you have to remind yourself not to let any drool slip out.

Apparently, the redhead isn’t finished as he stretches his arms above his head. The bottom of his shirt rides up to reveal more of his lean body and you swear he’s doing this on purpose. “Enjoying the show?” He teases, his tone suggestive. You stick out your tongue in response to hide your rather obvious gratification. 

You pick up a baseball bat and pretend to swing it at Karma, clicking your tongue as you softly touch it to his shoulder. The moment it comes into contact with his body, Karma sinks to the floor and lets out an exaggerated cry in agony. “Have… mercy…” he pleads, lowering his body to the floor and dropping his head in feigned defeat. 

“Never!” You shout and bring the bat high above your head, narrowly missing the fluorescent light. Just as you’re about to pretend to deal the lethal blow, four cold fingers run up your calve. They race over your knee, following the curve of your thigh. Before Karma’s fingers can get anywhere too inappropriate you smack them softly with the bat. “You’re supposed to beg me to spare your life, not harass me!” Karma chuckles softly.

“You know I can’t resist you baby.” Your heart melts at his words, but you can’t give in just yet, first you have to take care of this mess. You flick Karma’s forehead gently before turning to one of the shelves behind you and picking up a tube of tennis balls. You don’t bother walking outside and follow Karma’s example by throwing it through the gap of the door.

As you clear out the lower shelves, Karma takes care of the higher ones. Soon most of the shelves are freed up and you move to the wooden crates on the floor. They are quite heavy and it takes a lot of your strength to lift them outside. You struggle to upheave a crate filled with basketballs, but manage to put it down next to the other crates on the grass. When you enter the shed again, Karma is staring at you, his face clearly entertained. 

“Do you need any help with that?” Karma asks as you’re about to pick up another heavy crate. His offer is tempting, but the smug smile on his face is too condescending for your liking and you huff in annoyance.

“I don’t need your help! I’m a strong independent woman and I can take care of this thing myself, thank you very much.” In a split-second Karma strides over to where you’re standing and kicks your legs out from under you. Your heart stops in your chest and you feel panic rising as your body loses its balance. You fall backwards, but before you can crash into the ground an arm pulls around your back and keeps you from breaking any bones.

On instinct you’ve gabbed onto the nearest thing to keep yourself from falling, which just so happens to be Karma’s shirt. You look into his eyes, shock still overwhelmingly present in your expression, your heart nearly threatening to leap out of your chest. There is a satisfactory grin stretching from ear to ear on his face.

“I don’t think I heard you the first time, care to repeat yourself?” You squint your eyes and pull your lips into a straight line. You release your hold on the fabric of Karma’s shirt, but you can’t move away as he is still supporting your weight on his arm. It’s just a show of strength and you feel a little bit annoyed.

“That’s mean.” You say softly, still recovering from the fright. Karma sniggers at the timid choice of words and quickly kisses your forehead. You feel the muscles in his arm tense as he pulls you to your feet again. Once you’re upright you can’t help the smile cracking at the corner of you lip.

“You know, if you hadn’t spared my life earlier on, you would have fallen to your death. Aren’t you glad I was there to save you?” 

“What do you mean? It was you who swooped my feet out from under me, stop trying to gaslight me. I won’t fall for your tricks, you goblin!” You point your index finger in his direction to emphasize your words. Karma lets out an insulted hum and threateningly cracks his knuckles. He approaches you and you quickly take refuge behind the crate. You think of any possible escape route, but Karma bends his back to pick up the crate, lifting it up instead. 

“How about we actually clean this thing and then I will reprimand you for calling me a goblin?” He turns around to move the supplies outside, leaving you dumbfounded. You had definitely not expected him to let you off so easily, but the thought of being ‘reprimanded’ later on is causing tingles to run down your spine.

The next two hours are spent dusting off every single bat, glove and ball Class E owns. The floor is so shiny it reflects the harsh light from the ceiling and the shelves are almost completely filled with the supplies again. You’ve organized the shelves by sports categories and you’re still deciding on whether the spiders get to continue living their mundane lives in the shed when Karma brings in the last crate. 

“You have something on your shirt.” He says as he puts the wooden box down next to the other ones. You look down at your shirt, but you don’t see anything unusual. “It’s on your collar, you can’t see it. Here, let me get it for you.” Karma moves in front of you, his right hand already pulling on the fabric of your shirt. He plucks a thread from the cloth before smoothing it over again. You wait for him to step back again so you can thank him, but he doesn’t seem to have any plans to move away any time soon. You watch as his mouth twists into a devious grin.

“Hey, the hickeys I gave you have almost completely faded. It’s time for some new ones, don’t you agree?” His voice is deep and hushed as he whispers to you. You nod your head, not against the idea of feeling his mouth against your hot skin. Two large hands slide around your thighs and you’re hoisted up into the air, legs wrapping around Karma’s waist for stability. He leans you back until you’re pressed against the shelves.

“Careful now, what if something tumbles down, or worse, one of the rotten shelves decides to split. I don’t want to make a mess again.” You warn. Your worries don’t seem to bother Karma at all, although your words do have an effect on him.

“Oh, I’d love nothing more than to make a mess out of you.” You feel your face flush, but there’s no time to be embarrassed as hot breath washes over your collarbone. Karma’s mouth closes around your skin and goosebumps race up your arms. One hand snakes up your side and pulls on your shirt to grant more access. You feel him suck red and purple blotches into your skin and you slide a hand into his soft hair, twirling the locks around your fingers and softly scraping your nails against the back of his neck.

He releases your skin with a pop and soothes over the bruise with his tongue. You make eye contact for a second before he bares his teeth in a sly smile. Karma dips his head lower and teeth clamp down on your neck, the pressure just short from breaking the skin. You yelp in pain and surprise.

“You’re such an animal!” You say, only half joking. “Always biting me.”

“Only for you, babe.” Karma replies smugly. He sticks out his tongue and runs the muscle up your throat to the underside of your jaw. You let out a soft groan as he slides it over a particularly sensitive spot. Your fingers thread themselves further into his red mane and pull his face upwards so you can meet him in a kiss. Teeth clash together in impatience as you can’t wait to slide your tongue down his throat.

As your tongue slips into Karma’s mouth, you feel the hand on your thigh snake around to grab a handful of your ass, squeezing the supple flesh gently. Karma’s lips are soft in contrast to the hungry way he’s pressing them against your own. You sigh into the kiss, letting Karma take control of the pace. You only break apart when the need to breathe becomes too great. A bit of saliva trails down the corner of Karma’s mouth and you use your thumb to wipe it away before dropping your head to his shoulder. You inhale the strong inviting scent of his cologne, feeling safe in his embrace.

“You always smell so good.” You murmur into the crook of his neck, a contented smile on your face. Suddenly the hinges of the door creak as Rio steps inside. She looks at the position you’re in and scrunches up her nose.

“That’s disgusting, can’t you too sniff each other when you’re at home? Korosensei has returned and it looks like you two have finished cleaning up the shed.” She abruptly turns around and leaves, not even throwing her signature peace sign. You giggle softly and shake your head, meeting Karma’s smile with one of your own.

“I think Korosensei can stand to wait five more minutes, don’t you agree?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel a little bit guilty for stating that I'd be updating every two weeks, like, a month ago... I just don't always find as much enjoyment in writing as I used to when I started this story. I don't want to write when it feels more like a chore, so I'll probably update whenever I feel motivated or inspired instead of trying to bind myself to a time limit. 
> 
> I've been thinking about in what direction I want to take this story in and I have two routes I possibly want to pursue. At first I was just going to continue the story the way in which it is headed right now, but I'm thinking about exploring a bit more of the toxic side certain relationships could go in. Would you guys prefer a bit more romantic(but also a bit more bland) route or one which delves deeper into the dark side of the characters' personalities? Please let me know which one I should go for.
> 
> As always, thank you so much for reading and leaving comments. The comments are literally what motivate me to actually continue the story instead of giving up on it.


	14. Blowing off some steam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karma listens to you rant and helps you to relax a little.

“He straight up degraded me! Again! I don’t know how much more of his harassment I can handle. It just sucks knowing that I can’t do anything against it because of his father.” You frustratedly throw your hands in the air, your lips pulled into a thin line as you rant about your so-called tutor to your boyfriend who has been involuntarily subjected to your anger. He sits on the sofa in his living room, leaning back into the cushions as you stand in front of him.

The second session had been just as bad as the first one. It started out as an actual study session. You had explained your difficulties with the subject matter to Asano who had, albeit condescendingly, utilized several strategies to get you to understand the material. You had to admit you actually learned a lot from the way he explained things to you, the fear of messing up and making a fool of yourself, thus giving Asano the opportunity to sneer at you, motivating you to perfect your exercises. 

After twenty minutes he had asked you personal questions again. When you refused to answer he resulted to verbal harassment once again. At first you had ignored the redhead, but as he continued getting more personal with his attacks you had packed up your belongings, sent him a disappointed glance and walked out.

You were proud of yourself for not indulging in Asano’s arguments and being the bigger person. You wanted to fight back, to call him out on his behavior, but it obviously wouldn’t have done anything to improve the situation as exploding is exactly what Asano wants you to do. The annoyed expression on his face when you left without another word definitely did not go unnoticed and you felt a little bit of pride well up in your chest. Still, his words already did their damage and even though you didn’t show him how bad his insults affected you, you couldn’t get them out of your head.

“He deserves a goddamn punch to the face! Why didn’t you just sock him right then and there?” Karma’s words sound angry, but his body language is relaxed as he only slightly tilts his head at his own question. You’re sure he’s angry at the way Asano treated you, but you’ve come to understand there is no person on Earth who has perfected the art of masking their thought more than Karma. The gears on the inside of his mind are constantly turning, but the way he moves himself suggests a lazy attitude. You’re lucky he’s on your side, you would not like to be on the receiving end of his grudge.

“What good was that going to do? He’d only have more blackmail material. He is untouchable after all. I think leaving was the best thing I could have done in that situation.” You reason. Unlike Karma you don’t like resorting to violence if it is not necessary. You might have built up some skills in combat, but judging from Asano’s physique he can pack a mean punch as well, although you’re not sure he’d ever punch you. Manipulation is his forte, he has other ways to torment you. 

“Maybe it would have shown him you won’t let him mess with you any longer. Come on, you hit him in the face at the school trip as well. What’s the harm in one more punch? Maybe a black eye will give him something to think about every time he looks in the mirror.” You did admittedly headbutt Asano once before, but that was in absolute panic and you don’t plan on doing so again. “Or are you afraid he’s going to tell on you? With such a prominent mark it is indeed up to him to get you suspended. What about a little taste of his own medicine?” 

Karma’s smile is sly as he stretches out one of his hands. You accept it and as soon as his fingers intertwine with yours he gently tugs you forward. Placing one knee on either side of his thighs you straddle him.

“What do you mean by ‘a little taste of his own medicine’ exactly?” You question as your boyfriend slides his hands to the top of your hips, squeezing you softly. He takes his time unashamedly looking over your upper body before his eyes shoot up to meet yours again.

“He seems to be a big fan of personal attacks. He doesn’t resort to physical assault as long as he can hurt you psychologically. He calls you a whore because he knows you take offence to the term. You pride yourself on your kindness and friendly image and he knows that. It is also a way to get back at you for rejecting him. He used to have feelings for you, you know that. He’s probably still really bitter. The more personal he gets, the more enjoyment he finds. You told me he wasn’t satisfied with your silence when you left this afternoon, right?” You hum affirmatively. Apart from the few times he put his hands on you in unsolicited touches Asano had never physically hurt you.

Fighting might rile him up even more, you definitely agree with Karma in that, but you’re not sure you can get up to his level to give him ‘a taste of his own medicine’. You look at Karma, expecting him to make a suggestion.

“Think about it. What is the most painful for Asano?” There are several things that come to mind, but two things are more prominent than the others and you suddenly feel a little sad for the guy.

“Seeking approval from his father. Everything he does is to meet the expectations his father has of him. Also not having anyone other than himself. His friends are fake, they’re only his friends because of his status and authority as the principal’s son and he knows that too. He keeps them around only for convenience, but we both know they’d flock to the next best person if Asano was to ever transfer classes.” Karma’s grin expands as he squeezes your hips in approval.

“Good girl.” He compliments in a deep voice. You lift your hands and rest your underarms on Karma’s shoulders, clasping your hands together behind his neck. The close proximity of the position you’re in allowing you to do so.

“Next time he insults you just copy his statements. Call him out on not having any friends, on everybody actually disliking his attitude or just not caring for him at all. Call him out on his father not loving him, make it worse than it actually is, see how he likes it.” Karma suggests. You bite your lip, thinking about for a moment. Your brow furrows as you hypothesize the possible outcomes of the solution.

“Hmm, I’m not sure I want to stoop to his level. His words hurt me and I don’t necessarily want to hurt Asano. I just want him to stop and fighting fire with fire is only going to fuel more hate.” Karma tilts one of his eyebrows, a hint of annoyance playing at his lips.

“Then just let me beat him up.” He is almost pleading.

“No. I already told you I don’t want you to get involved in this. Not because I’m afraid Asano will hurt you; I know you can fend for yourself, trust me, but because I want to be the one to solve this problem.” You unclasp your fingers, bringing them to Karma’s forehead to quickly flick his skin in disapproval. To your surprise it only earns you another wide grin.

“Then just don’t show up anymore. It’s as simple as that.” The suggestion is logical, but it is not like you haven’t considered ditching Asano a hundred times over already. You just can’t do that; your conscience won’t let you. You rest your hands on Karma’s shoulders, bunching up the fabric of his black shirt between your fingers.

“You know I can’t! I promised Korosensei I’d sit through this hell until he finds a way to put a stop to it. I trust he will and I don’t want to disappoint him.” Karma huffs, the puff of hot air hitting your skin, goosebumps involuntarily rise all over your arms.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Miss Goody-two-shoes.” 

“Don’t call me that!” You say, unconsciously digging your nails slightly into Karma’s skin. He doesn’t seem to mind as he tauntingly repeats the nickname he’s given you. Having enough of the conversation he moves his head forward, burying his cold nose into the crook of your neck. A tingling sensation travels down your back, but you’re not satisfied yet.

“I don’t think I shou- hey, stop that!” Karma’s lips have latched onto your skin as he’s slowly sucking a bruise into your neck. You move back and the redhead lifts his eyebrows at you, pulling you closer to him by the hands on your hips. His face advances on you again, but you catch his cheeks between your palms. “I’m serious, I want to put a stop to Asano’s harassment.”

“But you’re not listening to anything I suggest!” Karma retorts. “I tell you I will punch him for you, you say no. I come up with a plan to get back at him, you say no. I tell you to ditch his lessons, guess what, you reject that too. What else do you want me to say? Seems to me like you’re just going to sit it out and ignore his insults.” His tone is exasperated, the irritation represented in not only his voice but his expression as well. He moves closer, but you catch him with your hands again. He gives you a warning look.

“I am listening to your suggestions, but I just don’t think they’re the right solution to my problem. I’m sure there’s another way to solve this. Besides, I just really feel the need to rant for a little bit, blow off some steam, you know? I don’t necessarily expect you to come up with a solution. I’m happy with you just listening to me.” Karma chews his bottom lip for a moment before the irritated expression changes into a smug smile.

“If you wanted to blow off some steam you should have just said so! I know plenty of ways to get rid of frustration.” You raise a brow at the sensual undertone of his words as his two large hands trail up your sides until his thumbs rest just below the band of your bra. You love your boyfriend, but his mind is in the gutter a little too often. 

“How about instead of blowing off some steam, you can blow me inst-“ You quickly cover Karma’s mouth with one of your hands before he can finish his sentence. His eyes are smiling in amusement at your antics. You give the redhead a stern look, hand still over his lips. Suddenly you feel something wet trail across the palm of your hand. The slimy feeling causes you to squint your eyes in aversion, but you don’t let it deter you. 

“Ah, don’t bite me, you rascal!” You exclaim, pulling back your hand as the skin is brutally pinched between sharp teeth for a split second. The characteristically sadistic smile is plastered on Karma’s face as he fights to hold back a chuckle. His knees suddenly buckle up as he shifts to straighten his back, throwing you off balance and forcing you to fall into his chest. Immediately his arms close around your back, your head resting on his shoulder as he keeps you prisoner in his grasp.

“I could bite you in other places too.” Karma’s voice is a hoarse whisper and you arch your back in response to his words.

“You seem to be really into biting me. Are you that desperate to get a taste of me?” You tease back. Karma bites his lip and tightens his hold around your body, pulling you flush against him.

“Maybe, but more importantly, you seem to have developed some masochistic tendencies. Which I don’t mind, obviously, I just hadn’t pegged you as such a pervert. I was really surprised when you bit me during that first training session.” You grin at the memory.

“That was just a defense mechanism. I would have bitten anyone in that situation, even Korosensei.” Karma imitates a gag and you lift your head in surprise. “What did you do that for?”

“Why do you have to bring up our teacher? Damn, you really know how to crash a party. I was just thinking about all the fun I could have leaving bitemarks all over you, but then you just had to give me that mental image of biting Korosensei.” You grin at the genuine disgust in Karma’s voice and strain against his grip. He allows you some space to sit up again.

“Then how about we go back to you marking me up, hmm? That sounds nice.” You purr, your tongue trailing over you lower lip. Karma visibly gulps at your suggestion, arousal written all over his face at your willingness to let him have his way with you. To further stress your submission you slide off his lap and lean back into the soft cushioning of the couch.

Karma turns his body, sitting on his legs so there is enough space for both of you. He grabs your calves and pulls them towards himself, sliding you closer so the back of your thighs can rest on his upper legs as he leans over you. Soft lips collide with yours and you press your chest into Karma’s warm body, needing him to be closer. As you move your lips in tandem with his, your arms trail up his biceps, but before you can reach his shoulders large hands enclose themselves around your wrists, pushing them down to rest next to your head. You don’t fight it, relishing in the redhead’s dominant nature. 

His lips detach themselves from your mouth and slowly trail open mouthed kisses down your neck. He reaches your collarbone, a definite favorite spot of his, and you feel his teeth graze over your skin. This time you’re prepared when he clamps down, pain shooting up your spine like electricity. A soft moan escapes your throat and you can’t help but admit something about the agony Karma afflicts on you is turning you on.

His hair tickles your face and you take in a deep breath, the scent of his freshly washed hair pleasant as you are aware of how close he is. Some of Karma’s weight rests on your body and you’re pressed far into the soft cushioning of the sofa. The pressure of his teeth is released as he sits up slightly to blow on the mark. The saliva on your skin is easily chilled and you shiver. Karma opens his mouth, eyes lidded in a sultry expression, but he doesn’t have the time to form a sentence as he is interrupted by the loud noise of your ringtone.

“Really? Right now?” Karma scoffs in annoyance as you reach for your phone in the back pocket of your pants. Fishing out the device you take a look at the caller ID.

“It’s Rio, I’m gonna take this real quick, okay?” You don’t wait for a reply as you press the accept call button. “Hey, what’s up?” You greet.

“The ceiling.” Rio replies and you stifle a giggle at the appalled look on Karma’s face as he patiently hovers above you. “You didn’t reply to any of my texts, so I thought I’d call you. I was gonna ask you if you want to hang out at my place tonight? Kaede and Nagisa are coming too, you can ask Karma along if you want to.” 

Suddenly Karma reaches forward and takes the phone from your grasp. He holds the device next to his mouth, annoyance written all over his face. “Sorry, but she already has plans. With me. Maybe some other time. Bye!” He ends the call and throws your phone carefully onto the carpeted floor out of your reach. 

“Hey!” You exclaim, “What did you do that for? I was going to agree!” Karma’s expression turns into something akin to a pout.

“But we were having fun with just the two of us, weren’t we?”

“Yes, but we could go to Rio’s house after we’re done having fun here, right?” You explain. The pout on Karma’s face turns into a blank stare, followed by an unsettling grin stretching from ear to ear, raising goosebumps all over your skin.

“Baby, did you really think I was going to be through with you so soon? I meant it when I said I was going to leave marks all over you, so you better lean back and relax, ‘cause I’m just getting started.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry I'm taking so long in between updates. I'm truly grateful to everyone who has stuck with me throughout the story and everyone who put up with all of the irregular updates. Thank you, I really appreciate that you still encourage me and find enjoyment in reading my work :')


	15. Game changer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's difficult to converse like actual adults when your conversation partner just so happens to be your archenemy.

Filtered rays of sunlight find your face as time passes and you scoot your chair a little to the right, squinting your eyes as you perform the move. Asano scrapes his throat and you halt your motions. You look up to meet his eyes, which quickly flit down to your neck with distaste. You consciously pull up the collar of your turtleneck, but even the fabric is insufficient to hide the purplish blooms scattered over your neck and the underside of your jaw.

It is awkward to say the least, but Asano doesn’t bring up the marks Karma littered all over your body, true to his promise. You focus your gaze on the mountain almost hidden from view due to the angle of the window. The sky is grey and the clouds hang threateningly close to the top of the mountain. It looks like a storm is going to erupt at any moment, but you don’t dread the bad weather, if anything a more dangerous storm is brewing in your head.

Karma’s suggestions of tackling your problem flit through your head. Should you just punch Asano square in the face and run for it? Would a personal attack cause him to be taken aback or would he only fight fire with fire? There is no way to tell for certain, but you’re pretty sure it’s going to be the latter.

Luckily the redhead has his mouth shut for once and the temptation to lash out at him is currently brewing on a small pit. Asano just sits and watches as you go over the math problems in front of you. You’re a little disappointed at the difficulty it costs you to find the solution to the equation on your paper. You wish you had persuaded your boyfriend to teach you the skills you were lacking, but every time you tried to do so he had turned it into a game. As a rule of thumb, all games with Karma are played on his conditions and those conditions usually involve some type of sexual interaction. Needless to say, you had not gotten a lot of studying done with Karma as your study partner.

Asano clears his throat again and you lift your eyes from the paper. He motions to the marks on your neck with his head and raises an eyebrow. Unconsciously, one of your hand moves to your throat, tracing over the tender skin and shielding it from Asano’s unforgiving stare.

“Do I even need to say anything?” He begins. No, there is absolutely no need for him to comment on anything that is irrelevant to your studies, but you know he is going to do so regardless. You keep quiet and raise your eyebrow inquisitively, copying his expression. “Isn’t it funny how you always pretend to be such a pure virgin, but you let that joker ravage you like it’s your life depends on it?” It’s not funny at all, actually. What is funny though is how Asano has the tendency to present his sneers as questions, something you only know one other person to do. Unsurprisingly, manipulation comes as a second nature to both of those guys.

“No, not really, didn’t make me laugh. Maybe try again?” Your voice drips with an undisguised bitterness to the words. Asano’s squints his eyes and the temperature in the room seemingly drops as chills creep up your arm. You visualize the gears turning in his head the way you like to when Karma is hatching a plan behind that poker face.

  
“I would insult you again, but it seems you’re already big enough of a disgrace to everyone around you. Tell me, do your parents look at you with disgust in their eyes when they see how much of a whore their daughter is?” Annoyance creeps into your mind and you feel the corner of your mouth twitch as your lips are pulled into a thin line.

“Can’t you just shut that dumb mouth of yours for once? God, you run it like it’s a fucking waterfall.” Karma was right. It feels good to be the one handing out the insults. You feel the irritation make place for satisfaction, but it only lasts a sweet second.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t know my diction is a little too difficult for you to grasp, let me reiterate it so you can understand it too.” The smile on his face is venomous, the air feels thicker immediately and you swallow, throat suddenly scratchy. “What did mommy and daddy say when they realized that you’re that psychopath’s little fuck toy? That he spills his load in you and you wrap your pretty little mouth around his cock to thank him.?”

Your hand is itching to slap Asano across the face, but you remind yourself this is a losing game you’re playing. You take a deep breath, closing your eyes and imagining squashing Asano underneath your palm like the pest he is. After regaining some of your composure you open your eyes and move your hands to the seat of your chair, fists gripping the material tightly as you feel the edge digging into your fingertips. You’d think after so long you’d get immune to the abuse, but the hurt never seems to falter.

“Seriously, what is your problem with me?” You raise your voice, keeping it just under a frustrated yell as you feel your eyes start to water. “What did I ever do to you?” Your brow is furrowed, the corners of your mouth drooping in a pout as you try not to let the emotions overtake the control of your voice. Asano looks at you, in his eyes something flashes. You mistake it for pity at first, but the judgmental look he casts makes you reconsider. He shrugs his shoulders as he scoots backwards, his chair scraping loudly over the wooden floorboards as he makes room to stand up.

“You must really be a moron if you haven’t figured that out yet. I’m going to get something to drink.” Asano leaves without sparing you another glance and confusion creeps into your heart. His response was derogatory, but the way he pronounced his words was so uncharacteristically soft and careful. He seemed to be holding back, or maybe this was the first time he showed you an honest response instead of the thought-out scenarios that probably run through his head like they do through yours.

There is a strain on your back and you realise your muscles are still tensed. Leaning back, your shoulders produce a satisfying pop and you throw your head from the left to the right. You’re exhausted, both physically and mentally. Arguing with Asano is taking up more energy than you’d like to admit and Karma’s ways to help you ‘relax’ often involve you contorting your body into not-so-comfortable positions. You really need some time for yourself, maybe a scorching hot shower when you get home and an even hotter cup of tea.

One look at the clock on the wall has you audibly groan as you sink your head into your arms folded on the desk. Only forty minutes have passed and you’ll be stuck here for at least another while, maybe it’s for the best to get some more work done. The quicker you’re done, the quicker you can get out of this personal hell. The paper in front of you is halfway done, you need to solve only a few more problems before you can move onto the next subject.

You stare at the equation, but the more your eyes focus, the less clear the solution becomes. You don’t believe there is actually a way to derive any equation that doesn’t fit on one line of your notebook. You flip the notebook, opening it on the last page where you have written down all the general rules for deriving equations. You ignore all the badly drawn dicks Maehara so kindly scribbled all over the paper with red ink and look for the solution. Your hand rakes through your hair in frustration as it all still makes zero sense.

The sound of the door handle being pulled alerts you to Asano’s entrance and you quickly flip the notebook back to the page you were working on. Footsteps grow louder until Asano passes you to take up his seat at the other side of his desk. There is a single can of juice in his hand, which he sets down in front of him while he sits down again. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to solve this problem, but I don’t get it. Can you help me?” You hope his temper has calmed down enough for him to consider getting back to the actual teaching part of your study sessions, but Asano casually leans back, lifting one of his legs so his ankle comes to rest just above his knee.

“No.” His tone is nonchalant, a small smile pulling at the corner of his lip. You sigh deeply, throwing your head back to take a look at the ceiling tiles. One of them is more off-white than the others. “We’re taking a break; you need to learn when to chill.”

You scoff at his words. “Chill? Me? Look who’s talking.” You roll your eyes, making sure Asano catches you doing so. His expression changes and you could best describe it as the face of someone who just pricked their fingers on a cactus. You purse your lips, folding your arms over one another as you challenge him. Asano brings his fingers to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose as he mimics your sigh. Still, it feels almost as playful banter as opposed to the usually snide nature of your so-called conversations. You decide to speak up.

“I’m serious. You’re so fucking stubborn; you always go for the overkill.” You roll your eyes again at the unnecessary usage of swearwords, but his statement has caught your interest and you allow him to continue. “You either put in no effort at all or you go way overboard. Learn how to balance those, it is really not that difficult if you actually try for once.” You’re surprised at how genuine Asano’s advice sounds, although you can’t help but feel a little insulted, you’re doing just fine on your own. These study sessions were definitely not your idea.

“I don’t need your advice, wouldn’t want to end up like you now, would I?” It’s surprising, even to yourself, how easily you took his genuine concern and turned it into something hurtful. It’s not like you at all and regret takes a bite out of your consciousness.

“Oh yeah, right. I forgot, being at the top of the school and being well respected by my classmates absolutely sucks.” The sarcasm drips from his voice and you fight the urge to roll your eyes a third time.

“I couldn’t care less about being at the top of the school, besides, I seem to remember Karma taking the number one spot last semester, correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t that make you number two?” Asano glares at you, the playfulness you thought you had detected before completely vanished. His jaw is visibly strained as he clamps his teeth together, you take the chance to bite.

“And you think you’re well respected?” You exhale through your nose. “Don’t make me laugh. You have zero actual friends. Those guys you call your ‘friends’ will stab you in the back first chance they get once your daddy is not around to put them in place anymore.”

You rest your back against your chair, satisfied at Asano’s silence, but then a hint of hurt shows in his eyes and you feel a pang of guilt tugging at your heart. His eyebrows meet in a frown and he scowls at you, but when he speaks the anger has disappeared from his voice.  
“Don’t involve my father in this.” Asano tells you, his volume at a normal level.

“You didn’t seem to have any second thoughts talking shit about my parents though? Why would yours be any different” You quip, taking the opportunity to defend yourself. Asano is quiet, seemingly still stunned from hearing the truth from your mouth.

“You suck.” The insult seems so childish and for the first time you see the Asano you had come to know as your classmate when you were still in class A. “And so does literally everyone else,” he continues, “you think I actually call those morons my friends?” The scowl on his face drops and his expression softens up.

“They act all buddy-buddy with me, but I catch them talking trash about me behind my back all the time.” You’re surprised Asano is speaking his mind, he seems frustrated with himself and it is obvious he hasn’t talked to anyone about his problems in a long time, building up a wall around his emotions. “You resent me for acting the way I do, but let me tell you, being the headmaster’s son is not at all easy.”

It is not as if you had expected it to be easy, but it does not excuse his behavior towards you. “That doesn’t justify straight up bullying me!” You can’t help the anger start to bubble up as Asano plays the victim card. Even though he is being genuine you can’t just let him off the hook for having a hard time.

The fire is reignited in the redhead’s eyes as he leans forward, but it is more frustration than resentment. His hands grab onto your shoulders, fingers digging through the fabric of your shirt almost painfully as his nails create small indents into your skin in the shape of crescent moons.  
“Everyone either bears a grudge against me or pretends to like me because they think it’ll work in their favour. Getting the top spot is literally the only thing left to prove my worth! So don’t you dare bitch about me having it easy as the headmaster’s son!” Asano accentuates his words by harshly squeezing your shoulders, and you furrow your brows as you cringe at the discomfort. After lashing out he stills, fingertips still buried into your skin. He notices the look of ache on your face and immediately his hands fall from your shoulders.

Asano sits back down in his chair as his eyes avoid your gaze, regret shining through as he catches his bottom lip between his teeth. You wait for him to say something, apologize, but he doesn’t. You’re unsure of how to feel. Obviously, you were well aware of his situation, Asano had actually confided some of his troubles in you when you still considered the two of you friends. You’re still adamant on getting him to ask for forgiveness for tormenting you, but you do feel for him a little.

“I wanted to be your friend, you know.” You start, voice soft at the appreciation of Asano finally opening up a little, even if out of pure frustration. “But you ignored me and then after a while you started to bully me. You made every moment I spent in that classroom a living hell.” Asano is still avoiding your eyes, but you’re sure he feels your focus on his face.

“You say I have no idea what you went through, and that’s true, but did you ever stop to consider what I was feeling?” You try to keep your voice down, not wanting to yell at the redhead in front of you, who is looking uncharacteristically insecure. Asano raises his head, finally landing his eyes on your figure again.

“You actually wanted to be my friend?” He asks, one eyebrow raised to show you his skepticism. “You don’t have to lie. I know what I did and I can’t take it back. Don’t pretend to feel sorry for me now.” You’re taken aback at his sudden confession. Never would you have thought Asano would admit to being a bully.

“I’m not pretending! I really did like you, we hung out a couple of times before, didn’t we? You’re the one who started acting all weird and nasty, that was definitely not me.” You keep your eyes trained on Asano’s, forcing him to concentrate on you. “You said I was a moron for not understanding, but I honestly still haven’t figured out why you hate me.” Your voice trembles a little as you finally manage to speak your mind without being insulted for the first time in a long period.

“I…” You see the hesitation in Asano’s eyes. “I don’t hate you, well, maybe I did for a while, but I don’t really anymore.” The uncharacteristic way he nervously fiddles with his hands doesn’t escape you, you’ve never seen this vulnerable side before. “Do you really want me to explain?”

You nod, not wanting to miss out on this chance. He asked you for reassurance, but you’re confident it’s because he doesn’t actually want to talk about his misdeeds and a small part of him hopes you don’t want to discuss them either. The possibility that this is just a hoax to embarrass you even further crosses your mind.

Something braces itself against the window, the noise catching your attention. It is a tree branch, the wind causing it to scrape along the glass. The soft sound of droplets hitting the window announces the beginning of the storm and you think back to twenty minutes ago when you had likened the storm to yourself, but at this point you’re not sure which one of you is the storm. Asano finally speaks up.

“When we hung out, at first, I wasn’t sure whether you were just kissing my ass or actually being friendly, but I did find it easier to talk to you. Then you started to fail some of your classes, no big deal, you probably just needed to focus on your studies a little more.” You reminisce about the time when you were sitting in the library with Asano, him trying to shush you and telling you to work on your homework instead of asking him about his interests. It had honestly been quite cute.

“I decided it would be better for you to use your time to get your grades up again, so I declined your invitations to hang out. Some of our classmates started to make fun of the rate at which your grades continued to drop, remember?” Oh, remember you do. The way the most annoying girl in your class had grabbed your insufficient test and held it up for everyone to see before handing it to you. You unconsciously grind your teeth together.

“I didn’t really care for their sneers, but when you didn’t get your grades back on track I thought it might motivate you to do better if there was more pressure on you. You know, it’s how I got to the top.” The reasoning is a little twisted, but a small spark in your heart finds it admirable that his intentions had been well. “But then you really surprised me. Instead of proving yourself, like I thought you would, you stopped talking to most of your friends.”

You raise your hand slightly, interjecting Asano. He pauses to let you speak and you’re still a little taken aback at the gentleness of his actions. “Well, it wasn’t like I stopped hanging out with them, they stopped hanging around me in fear of being associated with my grades and work ethic.” Asano furrows his brow.

“You kind of stopped caring about your grades and at that point I started to see your lack of motivation. I finally saw what my friends,” he pauses to scrunch his nose at the usage of the word ‘friends’ and tilts his head, “were saying and it was becoming easier to insult and embarrass you without feeling guilty about it. You didn’t talk to anyone anymore and I figured that as you already disliked me by then it would be a good opportunity to get you to pay attention to me without my reputation being tarnished.”

It is your turn to express hurt in your expression. Although Asano is explaining himself, he does not apologise. He is stating his story matter-of-factly, although it is already more than you had bargained for. The sun has moved into your eyes again and you scoot your chair a little bit further to the right. Asano watches you, but when you make no move to snap back at him, he takes the opportunity to continue.

“When you were transferred to class E I thought you’d be devastated, but you seemed to be happy anytime I spotted you with your new classmates. It’s simple, I hated seeing you so happy while you should feel horrible. I hated you for your attitude, for having is easier in class E; not a lot of pressure to perform as you’re already in the bottom. I despised your happiness. After that it became so easy to bully you, it felt good seeing you down. You should be feeling down anyway. I had to be content with the thought to sit out my days here, fighting for my reputation, surrounded by those useless classmates. You shouldn’t take it too personally, I resent literally everyone here at school, you’re just an easy target.”

“Do you still feel that way about me?” You asked Asano, lips pulled into a thin line as concern starts to grow again. Asano straightens his back, sitting up and peering into your eyes. A weight seems to have been lifted from his shoulders, but that is no guarantee the stick up his ass has disappeared. One sentimental moment doesn’t mean you can go back to the way things used to be.

Asano lets out a deep sigh and then droops his shoulders again, forward this time so he can rest his elbows on the desk. You mimic his movement, only the length of the desk between your faces. His hot breath hits your skin as you wait for a response.

“No. Like I said, I don’t hate you anymore.”

Silence.

“Then,” you start hopefully, “let’s be friends again?” It is a careful suggestion.

Silence again.

“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I reached 2000 reads just as I reached a turning point (maybe :) You can never be too sure, hint hint) in the story! Sometimes even I am disgusted with the insults I make Asano say, but I always make sure not to make it too distasteful. Trust me, he’s said waaay worse slurs in my head. I know how much even the smallest jabs can mean, especially in real life and I don’t want to take the arguing to an unrealistic level, even though people sometimes say really ugly stuff. I am happy with the character dynamics and the pace at which they develop though. 
> 
> I hope everyone is doing well during the pandemic and maybe reading can take your mind of the situation a little. It is important to take care of yourself, especially in isolation. Maybe some good things will come from it too. For me, I finally have the time to plan out and write my chapters! I also have a grasp of how much longer I am going to need, I think the story will come to a conclusion at around 20 chapters. It suddenly sounds so soon! 
> 
> Just to take into consideration; how much do you guys like Asano (in terms of romantic/sexual attraction)?


	16. Just the two of us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your boyfriend just wants to spend some time together.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

“God, can you please turn off the sound?” Karma throws his hands in the air as he dramatically drops back onto the couch, the cushions dipping down so you tilt to the side a little. You feel an arm slide around your shoulder, but your eyes are glued to the lit screen in your hands. You brush Karma off with a hum and press the button on the side of your phone to silence it. The sound of the television grows louder, but you’re not that interested in the movie flashing on the large display.

“Come on, put your phone away, you promised we’d watch the movie together!” You roll your eyes and inhale, a little childish, but Karma is starting to get on your nerves. You finish your text and turn off the phone, placing it on the coffee table in front of you. You look Karma in the eyes and force a small smile, hoping he’ll let it go. He squints his eyes at you, his head at a slight angle, before turning to look at your phone. Lazily lifting his right foot, he swipes your phone further out of your reach before propping both of his feet on the table.

The muscles of the arm resting around your shoulders flex and you are pulled further into Karma’s side. You’re hot, your sweater is a little too warm for the weather today and the heat of the body pressed against you is just a little too much. You’d prefer to just take it off, but you aren’t wearing anything beneath it, save for your bra.

You try to focus your vision on the movie, but it’s one you’ve already seen before and having to sit through it again is a bit of a bore. Your eyes glance to the phone on the far end of the coffee table, the screen is lit up to indicate the receival of yet another message. You squint your eyes and try to read the name of the contact. Karma’s body shifts and you feel his head turn towards the phone.

“Even when the sound is off he continues to torment us. Can’t the guy catch a break?” You purse your lips at Karma’s annoyance.

“You don’t know if it’s him.”

“Of course I do, who else has been texting you fifty times an hour for the past week?” Karma’s voice is raised and the frustration is obvious. You don’t like to admit it, but you know he’s right. Asano has been texting you. A lot. It started when you texted him after your little confrontation last week. It was just a simple ‘hello’, and at first he hadn’t responded at all. After two days he had finally sent a reply, leading to a short conversation, and from that moment on the regularity of the texts had continued to increase. 

“He doesn’t send me fifty texts an hour, stop overreacting! We were just having a normal conversation about school, that’s all.” Karma lifts an eyebrow at you, his lips pulled into a thin line.

“Are you sure it’s just a ‘normal conversation’? Because somehow I doubt Asano is able to hold a normal conversation with anyone.” You glare at Karma, feeling the need to defend Asano. Karma has been nothing but suspicious of Asano since you told him about your little encounter at school. 

“Don’t be such a dick! Just give him a chance. Why is it so wrong for him to want to mend our friendship? He’s lonely… You, of all people, should know to appreciate when a person is trying to befriend you when everyone else dislikes you.” You sit back into the couch, Karma’s arm still around your shoulder. Wanting to avoid further confrontation you keep quiet, pretending to be invested in the gory scene on the screen in front of you. Again, Karma’s body shifts and you know he is not ready to give up the argument just yet. You stubbornly keep your head straight, refusing to acknowledge your boyfriend. 

“Asano seemed pretty adamant about not apologizing to you. You told me yourself he wasn’t very enthusiastic about becoming friends either. Why did that suddenly change? Did he see the light?” Karma scoffs and you continue to ignore him. You’re not playing his game; you’d rather sit through this movie in awkward silence than to keep on quarreling. It’s not as if you can change his mind anyway. “Come on, you and I both know he wouldn’t benefit from a friendship at all. It would taint his reputation, the one thing he strives to uphold. You really think he’d give that up just for you?”

“I don’t expect him to give up anything” You respond, even though you wish you hadn’t. You’ll have to commit now. “He can keep it a secret for all I care. He just needs someone to vent to, someone who will listen to the things that are bothering him.”

“Really? You’re going to fall for a complete change of character that easily?” You shut your mouth again and scoot a little to the side, distancing your overheated body from Karma’s. The screen of your phone lights up again and this time you lean forward, stretching out so you can reach the device. Fingers clasp around your forearm before you can pick it up and you halt in your movements, instead using your free hand to pinch the bridge of your nose. 

When you face Karma there is a look of disbelief on his face. Neither of you move while your phone keeps on lighting up and dying down in the corner of your vision. “Let go.” You say coldly. 

“Are you seriously going to spend more time obliviously chatting away with that rat of are you going to-“ 

“Don’t call him that!” You cut Karma off. Name calling, how childish. Ironically enough Karma is always berating Asano for calling you derogatory names, that doesn’t make it alright for him to call anyone else names. Karma has a flaw of excusing himself from immoral things just because he thinks it’s for a good cause. 

“I seem to recall until a few days ago his favorite way to address you was whore. I don’t think rat is that bad in comparison. Why do you defend him like that? You should be angry at him, he should be begging you for forgiveness if he really wants to earn your trust again!” You sigh, raking a hand through your hair. For a moment nothing happens, then you motion your hand towards the arm Karma is still holding captive. 

“Let’s not fight.” You suggest softly. Karma gives you one stern look before mirroring your sigh and releasing you from his grasp. You reward your boyfriend with a small smile and pick up the phone. Karma watches as you unlock the screen, a frown revealing his annoyance. To his surprise you press the power button down, shutting off your phone completely. 

You put the phone back and take up your spot on the couch again. Immediately the arm is back around your shoulder, pulling you in. This time you don’t fight it, nestling into Karma’s body instead. “You know, maybe you should take out the battery.” Karma jokes, a grin on his face. You bite your lip and playfully smack his thigh. 

“Ah!” Karma shouts, dramatically covering his leg where you hit him. “You hurt me. How could you? My own girlfriend. Now there’s no one left to trust.” The hand on his leg transfers to rest over his heart as he shuts his eyes, lips pulled into an exaggerated pout.

“Shut up, you big baby. You deserved that.” When Karma chokes out a fake cry, you’re not sure you can handle his overdramatic play any longer. You lean down and quickly place a kiss on his leg. When straighten your back again one of his mercury eyes is peering at you. Karma fights to keep the strained pout on his lips, but a smile cracks through, causing his face to distort in a funny way.

“I think you hit me a little higher, why not kiss it better? It’s the least you can do, don’t you agree?” It takes you a second to get his suggestion. When the realization hits you grab onto the nearest pillow and smack the perverted grin from Karma’s face. He’s going to need a lot more ‘get better’ kisses if he keeps this up. “Hey! I said kiss me, not hit me!” Karma chuckles as he deflects the pillow before you can get another hit in. “You look hot, maybe you want to take off some of those clothes? They must be clinging to your skin oh so uncomfortably right now.” You feel the heat on your cheeks, moving around not having done anything to cool you off. 

“Never! Repent for your sins!” Your battle cry sounds as you sit up on your knees in the soft cushions, pillow raised high above your head. You prepare to rain down an attack, but two strong hands grab onto your waist, fingers dipping underneath your shirt. Ten fingernails scribble along your sides and an involuntary snort escapes your nose. You bring the pillow down, but there’s not much force behind it to hit Karma as you’re lost in a fit of giggles. 

“I give, I give!” You shout, curling into yourself, but the fingers don’t cease their wiggling. You’re left to Karma’s mercy and unfortunately for you, you already know merciful is not a word used to describe the redhead. “Please!” You try, small tears forming in the corners of your eyes. Karma halts his assault, but the malicious grin is plastered to his face. 

“I’ll have to think about that,” he hums, “let’s see. No. How about you repent for your sins instead?” Karma trails off with a suggestive tone. His smug expression causes butterflies to swarm your stomach and you quickly interlace your fingers before Karma gets the chance to catch you off guard. Before he can do anything, you lean backwards, pulling him back with you. Karma shifts his weight so he doesn’t crush you beneath him as he follows you down, not objecting to what you’re doing at all. 

“Repent for my sins?” You whisper with a shy smile as your back presses comfortably into the soft cushions. “How would you suggest I do that? If I asked you for help, you wouldn’t be too hard on me, would you?” Your sweet tone calls Karma in as his pupils dilate. He tries to hide his excitement behind an unimpressed expression, but the moment he swallows dryly you know you have him exactly where you want him. “When you have me all defenseless?” You take it one step further. 

Karma drags your interlocked fingers up to rest them next to your head. He pulls one of his hands free and traces along your jaw until it comes to softly rest over the hollow of your throat. His stare is intense, full of excitement and adoration. “You’ve got yourself in quite the trouble, young lady.” Karma plays along with your game, leaning down.“ Now, as per the rules I will be allowed to decide over the fate of those who have wronged me.”

“Please, have mercy!” you beg, breathless from Karma’s weight resting on you. You arch your back, pressing your chest into his not so subtly. His teeth clamp down on his bottom lip to suppress a groan and he leans more into you, forcing your back deeper into the cushions as desire starts to cloud his mind.

“You have struck your captor across the face, normally the sentence is beheading, but for you I am willing to make an exception.” Karma lifts your intertwined hands and slips his fingers free to drag them down to encapsulate your wrist. He brings your hand to his mouth and lightly grazes his teeth over the flesh. 

You’re engrossed in the play, a part of you buying into the role as his prisoner, the adrenaline of feigning fright heightening your senses. “Sir, please, I promise I’ll do whatever you ask of me.” You beg in a whisper, afraid to break the tension if you raise your voice. The hand around your wrist squeezes tighter at the mention of the nickname, the idea of being a figure of authority to you feeding Karma’s arousal. 

The grip on your wrist slackens and you let your arm drop back down, fist grabbing hold of the top of your shirt. You pull down your collar, revealing your soft skin to the redhead, whose eyes follow along your exposed collarbones in an almost predatory way. Karma swallows audibly. “Whatever I want, you say? Careful now, don’t make a promise you can’t keep.” His voice is hoarse.

The play is over. Karma is no longer acting a part, although you are still captivated by him. Slowly, you raise your hand, snaking it into his tousled hair and gently pulling his head down. His lips are already parted before you can kiss him and he immediately sticks his tongue into your mouth, feverishly claiming your lips. He doesn’t give you a chance to breathe in and you start to feel lightheaded from the lack of oxygen. It feels as if you’re drunk off the taste of him, a subtle tinge of this afternoon’s coffee. His tongue swirls around your own and when he finally pulls away you’re left gasping to catch your breath.

“I know what I want.” He states before quickly leaning back down to envelope you in another one of his dizzying kisses. You’re left wondering what it is he wants from you, but as your senses are taken over by what is so overwhelmingly Karma, you’re not sure you even care. You’d do anything for him if it meant this moment could last forever. “Stay the night.” 

His parents aren’t home, they almost never are. You’ve only met them twice in all the times you’ve been over at Karma’s house. Spending the night sounds really nice, but you’ve promised Rio you’d be there at her girls’ night. Some girls from your class were going to be there as well and you haven’t hung out with them in a while.

“You know I can’t. I promised Rio I’d come over. I appreciate the offer though, maybe another time?” You can see the smile on Karma’s face turn into disappointment and, after a few silent seconds, annoyance. He leans down and nips at your collarbone as if to punish you for rejecting him, cold nose pressed into the crook of your neck.

“Tell her you aren’t feeling well, she’ll understand.” Karma doesn’t look up, instead pressing a kiss into your skin and moving down as far as the collar of your shirt allows. You moan quietly, trying to stay focused on the conversation as Karma distracts you with his ministrations. You find yourself almost willing to give into his demands. With your left hand placed on his cheek, you lift his face so you can look him in the eyes. He is close enough that you can feel his warm breath on your skin.

“I don’t want to lie to her.” You explain. Karma gives you an annoyed look, like there’s something you’re not getting as he moves his hand to hold the one you have placed on his cheek. You avoid the look in his eyes, uneasy as you hate disappointing your boyfriend. Instead, you focus on the light specks of colour dusting his nose, following the sparsely scattered freckles to his neck, where the skin is almost perfectly clear. There are a few clusters of soft brown marks on his arms, a single mole on his bicep. You know there are more freckles mapped out on his back, maybe he’ll let you trace constellations into them some time.

“I’ll call her then.” Karma’s tone is nonchalant and suddenly you’re reminded you shouldn’t compare Karma to something celestial, as he is more of a devil than an angel. Karma moves your hand from his cheek and dips down again, resuming his trail of kisses to the fabric of your collar. When his lips close over a particular spot you let out a gasp, earning you a noise of approval. Karma rolls his hips into yours and you don’t bother to hide the pleasure, eyebrows scrunched together.

“That would be even more suspicious.” You argue. Karma is anything but content with your reply and he lets you know by biting down on your tender skin. It is an old trick by now, but it hurts nonetheless. “Ah! Why’d you do that?” You whine as you pull up his face, this time by his hair, not so gently. 

“I just really want to spend time with you, but you keep on rejecting my offers and I’m starting to believe you don’t actually want to be here anymore.” Something is strange, Karma’s words and the emotion behind it don’t add up. He doesn’t seem very affected and invested, instead almost disinterested in his own saying. You have been spending a lot of time with Karma lately and it is almost as if he is trying to bring you a sense of guilt. Still you don’t want to make him feel like you’re here against your will.

“You know I love spending time with you!” Karma always makes you feel like a goddess, even if he can be mean sometimes, and you can’t be mad at your boyfriend for wanting to be together. In all fairness, you had been complaining to him about how you weren’t sure if you wanted to go over to Rio’s house anyway. She had invited quite a lot of classmates and all you wanted was some peace and quiet. Maybe Karma was right.

“Are you scared to spend the night with me? I meant it as in I’d like to fall asleep next to you. I won’t pressure you into doing anything you don’t want.” Karma’s voice is sweet as he combs his fingers through your hair. You can feel your resolve crumbling as you slip your arms around Karma’s back, pulling him to lie down on top of you. 

“You know what? Fine, but I’m calling Rio myself.” You can feel Karma smile as he presses his face into the juncture of your neck and shoulder. The weight of his body is pleasant and you let out a deep sigh. This is not so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been neglecting all of you :'( (but I'm back, heyyy)
> 
> At one point I was googling some anatomy related terms to spell check and I found out the hollow part of your throat is called the suprasternal notch, or the fossa jugularis sternalis. Wow, that would have really destroyed the atmosphere, but you bet your ass I am going to casually drop either of those terms in everyday conversations from now on.
> 
> I struggle with following a storyline instead of just compiling random chapters (which is not necessarily a bad thing) because I don't think you guys would have liked the direction in which I was planning to take the story. After reading your comments I realised there was a very simple solution to steer things in the right direction again and now I'm back on track! 
> 
> Thanks for the comments, it always makes me really happy to hear your opinions.


	17. See you tonight

The hand of the clock is almost at the four. You count along with the hand as another minute passes, every second a second closer to the end of your lesson and a second closer to the end of the torture Miss Bitch is putting the class through. You don’t think your mind can handle reading anymore of the filthy novel she is presenting as literature. Surely, one more mention of the word ‘tongue’ and you will have to bite yours off.

With one hand knitted into your hair, you let out an audible sigh. Immediately regret befalls you as your teacher sends you a mean glare. You make sure to roll your eyes at her before returning to the paragraph in front of you. Your free hand turns the page and you pretend to start the next chapter. 

At the front row Yada raises her hand to ask a question and you take the opportunity to swing your legs to your right, facing Karma. He seems immersed in the book, scribbling down notes on the paper and using a light blue marker to highlight some of the text. You wait for him to turn around, but he doesn’t notice you, or at least pretends not to notice.

You purse your lips and gently nudge his left leg with the tip of your shoe. Karma underlines another passage before finally putting down the marker and turning to look you in the eyes. He gives you a toothy grin and wiggles his eyebrows at you before shoving his head back into the pages. You’ve never seen him this invested in one of Miss Bitch’s literature lessons, so you kick his shin again, a little less gently this time.

Karma sits up straight and rolls his head from left to right, releasing some of the tension on his neck. Then he looks at you, the corners of his mouth stretched wide into a grin. He picks up the book and waves it in your direction. You take a quick look at the front of the classroom; Miss Bitch is still leaning on Yada’s table, back facing your direction. Karma waves the book more frantically as you take too long for his liking. You quickly snatch the so-called piece of literature from his hand and place it over the copy on your table.

You flick through the pages, eyes scanning over the altered text. The words in bright blue come to your attention first. Every highlight is a strange euphemism to describe the main characters having sex. You feel a smile creep onto your face at the sheer ridiculousness of what you’re reading. “Baking the potato?” You snigger softly. “Burping the worm in the mole hole, souring the kraut, tunnel patrol? Are you serious?” You whisper to Karma, careful not to alert Miss Bitch. “This is so incredibly stupid. I can’t believe we’re actually reading this shit.” 

“Wait!” Karma’s voice reveals his excitement, his voice definitely above a hushed whisper, earning you another look from your teacher at the front. She keeps squinting her eyes at the pair of you until you return your focus on the book in front of you, pretending to be engrossed in the words. Miss Bitch turns around again, seemingly satisfied with your silence. You glance at Karma, who is feigning a relieved expression, wiping his head across his forehead in pretend-relief. 

‘Wait’ he mouths to you and leans over so he can rest his arm on your desk. He takes his copy of the book into his hands and flips through the pages, searching for someone until the smile returns to his face. His demeanor is elevated as he points to a paragraph on page forty, akin to a toddler showing off their favorite toy. Your eyes flit to the blue color. Bold and bright, staring you right back in the face is the phrase ‘pressure-washing the quiver bone in the bitch wrinkle.’ 

Laughter bubbles up in the back of your throat and it is too powerful an urge to deny. A loud cackle escapes your lips and you quickly cover up your mouth with your hand. Most of your classmates take a quick glance at your sudden outburst, Rio even fully turning around in her chair to watch a spectacle unfold. You bite your lip as you fight the funniness, Karma’s accomplished grin not doing anything to stop you.

When you look in the direction of your teacher it becomes clear she is less than amused with your antics. There is a stern look on her face, arms crossed tightly over her partially exposed chest. She doesn’t look very threatening, but you have to remind yourself this woman has killed enough men of status to be assigned as a teacher to your class. 

“If you like attention so much, maybe we could all listen to you read your favorite passage from this week’s chapter.” She doesn’t try to hide the irritation, not a single grain of compassion in her voice. You chew on the inside of your cheek, not feeling up to the task. You don’t really have a favorite passage as the pornographic novel is not your kind of material. 

“Do it!” Karma urges you on. You grant him a frown as he gives you a thumbs up. For the second time today you make sure someone catches you rolling your eyes at them. You focus your attention back on Miss Bitch, but she is looking to your right.

“It seems you’re rather enthusiastic, Karma. Maybe you would like to read to us instead?” she suggests with a feigned sweetness. Unfortunately for her Karma is not one to back down from a challenge.

“Sure! What page would you like me to start on?” Karma’s audacity does not sit right with your teacher as she keeps her mouth shut, one eyebrow raised in irritation. Karma takes the opportunity to snatch the book from your table, thumbing through the pages. You know exactly which part he is going to recite. 

Karma starts reading and everyone is silent, listening attentively to the vulgar words spilling from his lips. You’re pretty sure he’s reading his altered version as some of the lines are even more filthy than you remember. You look at his face, there is not a hint of pink dusting his cheeks. No embarrassment makes it way onto Karma’s expression, only enjoyment. 

“Wait- you aren’t insinuating…” Karma’s voice is pitchy as he imitates the female protagonist, gasping dramatically, “pressure-washing the quiver bone in-“

“That’s enough!” Miss Bitch bursts out, clearly aggravated. “Thank you for that, Karma.” An awkward cough, followed by some stifled giggling from Rio. “It’s almost time, so pack up your books and get out. We’ll continue this tomorrow, make sure to finish the chapter before then.” 

You watch as Karma slowly closes the cover, a satisfied grin stretching from ear to ear. You hold up your hand for a high-five as a little bit of pride creeps onto your cheeks in the form of a blush. Karma firmly slaps his palm against yours before knitting his fingers through your own. A warm feeling spreads through your body as you bite your bottom lip. You stand up, hands still interlinked, swinging your bag over your shoulder with your free hand. Karma mirrors you and pulls you after him.

He leaves his chair pulled out and you shove it back with a click of your tongue. Karma sends you an intrigued half-smile as if to challenge you to tell him off. You decide against it and just shake your head. The pair of you are almost at the doorpost when Miss Bitch blocks your exit. “Karma, please stay behind for a second.” 

He gives you a silent shrug of his shoulders and frees your interlocked fingers. You answer him with an almost apologetic smile and walk around your teacher. Other students follow and you let the flock lead you outside where you join the circle of your friends. It’s only the girls this time. 

“Hey, are you ready to go shopping? You have to show me where you bought that grey turtleneck I really like!” Kaede chimes as she grabs ahold of your arm. One of your eyebrows lifts in confusion. You don’t remember any appointments to go shopping, although you did want to go to the shops and look for a new skirt. You had mentioned it to Karma and he had informed you he’d love to come with you and maybe pick out some other things for you to wear too. 

“Oh, I didn’t know you guys were going shopping.” You reply. Kaede’s lips form a pout as she tugs on the arm she’s still pressing to her chest. Her actions are a little childish, but you’ve always found it quite endearing, like a younger sister. Her green pigtails are just begging to be ruffled and you thread your hand through her smooth locks.

“We made the plans during the sleepover, so there were no texts or whatsoever. But it doesn’t matter, right? You can still come with us!” The hopeful tone to her words tug on your heartstrings. You really want to go, but you sort of already have other plans.

“I’m really sorry, but I promised Karma we’d hang out. Besides, we’re going shopping soon and I don’t want to get tempted into buying more stuff than I actually need.” You watch Kaede’s smile drop and the guilt in your chest weighs more heavily than ever. “Maybe next time?” You try carefully. Avoiding Kaede’s eyes, you look around the circle, hoping to figure out if anyone else understands where you’re coming from, but the clear disappointment on Kanzaki’s face tells you more than you need to know. 

“You haven’t accepted any of our invitations these past few weeks. Surely you can make a little time for us?” Kanzaki’s suggestion is kind, but accompanied by Rio’s stare it sounds harsher than it was probably intended. “We miss you when you’re not there.” Okuda is soft-spoken, often satisfied with being a bystander instead of an active participant. If she’s telling you she misses you there is simply no way you can deny her. 

“Is it okay if Karma tags along?” You ask, convinced it will be enough to please them. Unfortunately, your question only earns you a couple of blank expressions, if you look closely enough annoyance even. Rio crosses her arms over each other, clearly not satisfied with your suggestion. 

“No.” There is no room for argument, her tone says enough. “No boys allowed; you know this is a girls exclusively type event. No boyfriends, otherwise it won’t be special anymore. There’s no point in bringing boys along if we’re not going to invite all of them.” You chew your bottom lip. “You can hang out with him every other day. In fact, I’m pretty sure you do so already.”

You laugh at that, but then you notice Rio isn’t laughing along with you. One quick glance around the circle tells you no one else thought it was funny. The atmosphere is heavy and you’re not sure of what to do. “I’m going to be honest with you.” Oh no, those words are never good coming from Rio’s mouth. “I speak on behalf of all of us when I say we’re starting to get a little concerned. You keep on rejecting us, it’s as if you’re trying to avoid us.”

“That’s definitely not what’s going on!” You interject, feeling hurt your dear friends would think that. Rio holds up her hand, signaling to let her finish first. A deep breath has you realize your fists are balled up and you unclench them, waiting for your friend to continue. 

“We know that. It’s Karma who needs to learn how to share. You’re too sweet to say no to him, but he can’t keep you all to himself. We’re your friends too. Besides, it’s not as if we disapprove of your relationship.” You want to defend Karma, but you’re afraid it’s only going to aggravate Rio further. She does have a point. When is the last time you spend time with your friends without Karma around? Even moments with both your friends and Karma around are a rarity. “There’s no need for him to be so egotistical.” 

Rio tells you she doesn’t disapprove of your relationship, but at this point you believe she doesn’t actually approve of it either. She was the one who supported you all throughout your little crush up until the moment you got together, but even then, she was always quick to call Karma out on his bullshit. It’s no surprise she’s harsh and critical of the way he treats you, even if he acts out of the urge to spoil you without anyone else around. 

You’re convinced he’s just a bit clingy and overprotective, which you absolutely don’t mind, but you brush it off anyway. It’s probably easier to prove to your friends that you can tell your boyfriend no. They make a big deal out of something so small. It’s true you’ve spent a lot of time together, but that was not a one-sided decision. “Okay, I’ll come with you.”

Kaede’s face light up and she hugs your arm even closer. Even Okuda wears a shy smile in approval and you feel part of the weight being lifted from your chest. “Just let me tell Karma I’m coming with you guys. He should’ve been hear already? What is taking him so long?” You don’t miss the skeptic way in which Rio still has an eyebrow raised and you turn around to avoid her stare, walking back inside to look for Karma instead. 

Once inside you pass the lockers on your way to the classroom. With each step you take a nervousness sinks into your shoes, making them feel heavier and heavier. Why do you feel so anxious? Is it because you don’t want to disappoint Karma? He’ll understand why you’re cancelling plans, right? It’s only natural to want to please others and after all, it’s your choice.

The door to your classroom opens and Karma walks out, his mood unreadable. He closes the door behind him, he doesn’t slam it, but the thud is heavy. The moment he notices you a small smile plays on his features and you feel the anxiety dial down just slightly. “You’re so impatient.” He muses. “Couldn’t even stand five minutes apart from me, babe?” The smile twists into something slyer and even after all the time you’ve been an item, it still manages to make your breath catch in your throat. 

“I was getting a little desperate.” You quip back at the redhead. “Actually, I wanted to ask if we could maybe hang out later today?” The smile on Karma’s face doesn’t falter, but the silence he introduces causes the air to thicken. He doesn’t say anything, all he does is lean sideways until his shoulder is resting against the cool metal of the lockers. Then he tilts his chin upwards, a sign he is either looking down on you or that he’s convinced he’s got the situation under control. You don’t like it when he uses that look on you. 

“Why?” He shrugs his shoulders, unimpressed by your suggestion. “We already made plans, didn’t we? What is more important than something you already promised to me? Come on, I even said I’d play for you today.” Damn this boy for knowing you so well. He’s so good at playing into your emotions and insecurities. On top of that he is well aware of how much of a sucker you are for him when he plays his electric guitar for you. You suck in a breath of air through your teeth. 

“The girls are going shopping and they invited me too. It’s been so long since I’ve come along and I figured, since we hang out pretty much every day, I could make some time for them.” You search for a hint of understanding, but compassion is far from what you see in front of you. Karma looks annoyed, bored even, like he’s done dealing with your gibberish. 

“No.” He replies.

“No?” You echo. “I’m sorry?” This is not going as well as you thought it would. You’re going, whether he likes it or not, but you had expected him to at least see where you’re coming from. “Hey, I really want to go. I’ve been calling a lot of my appointments off just to spend time with you, why don’t you want me to go?” 

“Because you made a promise to me. I thought you were the one who told me she values trust and loyalty so much, but apparently that only counts when it comes to the way people should treat you and not the other way around.” It’s plain mean and you feel anger bubbling up inside. You’ve sacrificed a lot of time around other people for him, why is he being so difficult? Not just difficult, rude as well.   
“Don’t say it like that! You’re twisting my words; you and I both know this is not what I meant when I said that. I just want to have fun with other friends as well. I could come over tonight?” You try to come up with something that will please him. Your brain is shouting at you to just tell him you’re going and that he should just suck it up, but you can’t bring yourself to do so. All you want to do is to make him happy, he’s always trying to make you feel good about yourself, worshipping you and your body like a goddess at times. 

“I could spend the night again.” You reduce your voice to a low whisper, placing your left hand on his upper arm. Karma’s gaze follows along as you softly squeeze his bicep. He is still wearing his poker face, but you’re convinced he’s torn on the inside to give in. “Your parents are still away, right?” You’re almost purring at this point. With how often Karma tries to seduce you, surely, he must be susceptible to his own strategy. 

“Only if you promise to model everything you bought once you get to my house.” That sounds like a good deal. “And I get to watch you change into it.” Of course, there’s a catch. A grin stretches Karma’s mouth and the excited look in his eyes makes your knees weak. He’s seen you shirtless before, you think you can handle being in your underwear. 

“Fine.” Karma still seems reluctant, but he cannot repress his enthusiasm. You take a small step forwards and press your lips to his in a small token of appreciation. Quickly, he wraps his arms around your back, encasing you in his warmth. You don’t pull away and he keeps you close to him for a couple more seconds. When you step back Karma is wearing another toothy grin and relief washes over you. “See you tonight, baby.” You greet him with a shy wink.

“Yeah, see you tonight.” He parrots, blowing you a dramatic kiss when you’re not even five steps away. You snort at his antics and turn around, afraid seeing anymore of him is going to make you lovesick, leaving Karma behind while he takes his coat out of his locker. Once outside your friends are still waiting for you.

“Ready?” Rio asks full of energy. She holds out her arm and you take it, walking like an old-fashioned couple. It’s been such a long time since you’ve all been together. Going out with the girls used to be a regular thing and you do feel bad you’ve been neglecting all of them. 

“You bet your ass!” You reply with just as much enthusiasm. You make sure to send a thumbs up to Okuda, who is walking on your other side. You slide your free arm around her shoulders. You know she’s always a little awkward with physical contact, but right now you don’t care. You just want to show her how much you’ve missed this. Fortunately, she does not seem to mind. 

At the mall you grab a coffee first. Rio is updating you on all of the gossip regarding your classmates. Apparently, you’ve missed out on a whole lot. She’s in the middle of a story on how Maehara almost got arrested, which is actually not that surprising, when your phone rings. You take a look at the screen, Asano’s name lighting up on the display. Quickly you press the volume button until the music is silent, sliding the phone back into the pocket of your coat. Rio is looking at you expectantly.

“Ah sorry,” you apologize, praying no one else got a look at the caller ID. “I promised I’d focus on us, so no picking up calls until I’m on my way home again!” Rio looks satisfied and you feel relief washing over your shoulders. You really don’t want to deal with anymore boys under your friend’s scrutiny. 

It’s when you’re browsing through the shops when you finally feel completely at ease. All your worries are momentarily forgotten as the most pressing matter is whether you want to try on the Bordeaux red sweater or the cute deep green blouse. You’re still deciding when Kanzaki comes out of the dressing room, gliding around sophisticatedly in a long flowy dress.

Your jaw almost drops open at the traditional beauty. She could make even a garbage bag look like haute couture fashion. You whistle at her and she covers her mouth in a giggle. Taking one glance at the articles of clothing in your hands she strides up to you. “Red,” is all she says. You don’t question her taste, red it is. 

In a shop a little further down the street you’re faced with a pretty black and white checkered skirt. You trace your fingers along the neatly trimmed hem, admiring the fabric. “I think Karma would like that.” You muse to yourself. Only when you raise your head you realize you probably shouldn’t have said that out loud.

“Come on, let’s get your mind off that boy for now.” Rio is quick to criticize. “I don’t want you to mention his name again while we’re here, okay?” You can’t help it; Karma is all you can think about. Maybe Rio is right, maybe it’s time you distance yourself a little bit. Your life is not all about Karma, even though it surely seems that way lately. 

“Okay.” You muster a smile, which seems to appease your friend. Realization rains down on you that maybe your relationship with Karma is taking over more of your life than you’d wanted it to. It is probably best to address the issue later tonight. For now, you promise to yourself that you’ll make time to hang out with other people at least once a week. 

When the dark orange sky of the dusk starts to settle, your arms are heavy from the bags clinging to them. It’s been ages since you’ve treated yourself to a spending spree. You’re sure you have successfully replaced your complete wardrobe. You’ve said your goodbyes to everyone except for Kanzaki, who is taking the bus in the same direction as she lives somewhat close to Karma. 

You place your bags on the empty space next to you, Kanzaki has taken up the seat opposite of you. You’re still giggling about everything that happened and you’re reminded of how lighthearted you can feel. “Seriously! I can’t even remember the last time I bought myself new clothes.” A smile plays at Kanzaki’s lips. 

“See! That’s a sign you need to tag along more often!” You quickly reassure her you will. The two of you excitedly rummage through your bags to show each other the things you bought. Kanzaki is a beauty on not only the outside, but also in her personality and you’re so caught up in chatting about everything and anything that you almost miss your stop. 

“See you next week!” You step through the open doors of the bus and wave at Kanzaki from the sidewalk. She waves back at you until the doors close again with a loud hiss. The bus takes off and you watch as Kanzaki disappears from sight. The streets are empty as most families are having dinner around this time. The route to Karma’s house is a short one, not even ten minutes, but you still pull out your headphones. 

When you plug them into your phone the screen lights up. Asano’s name pops up on the display and you see he tried to call you once more only an hour ago. You had completely forgotten about him. Opening your lock screen, you flick through your messages. Asano is asking you to hang out. When did you become so popular all of a sudden? You’ll have to call him back later. 

Upon arriving at Karma’s house, you ring the doorbell. It takes only a few seconds until you hear the click of the lock coming undone and the door swings open with enthusiasm. Karma stands in the opening, his pose nonchalant as he leans against the frame, but his wicked smile can barely contain the giddiness. 

“Your model has arrived.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter isn't actually finished, there was supposed to be another part at the end. It's been a few weeks since I uploaded, so I decided to split the chapter into two as it was starting to get pretty long anyway. Next chapter might be a little shorter, but you'll have something to read in the meantime :)
> 
> I had to look up some euphemisms and innuendos for the first part and I laughed my ass off. I can't believe there are actually people who use those phrases. More and more of you are commenting that you'd be interested in Asano as a romantic lead. This fic focuses mainly on Karma, but I might be compelled to write a little spin off once I'm finished if anyone's interested. I might just do it anyway, because I really like Asano too hehe
> 
> (Also, I know I've said it a hundred times before already, but thank you so much to everyone leaving sweet comments. Hearing that you've read through all of this story at once because you can't stop actually makes my heart explode)


	18. Your model has arrived

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning for smut, children shield your eyes.

“Well then, Miss Model, why don’t you step inside?” Karma takes a step back into the hallway, his arm keeping the door from slotting back into place. You smile at his feigned gallant nature, giving him a curt nod with a politeness just as artificial. Once you’re inside the familiar confines of Karma’s living room you set down the bags. Karma steps forward to take a peek inside, but you obscure his view by placing a hand over his eyes.

“Uh, uh, uh,” you warn sternly. “You wanted me to model them for you, so you’ll just have to wait until I have put them on.” Karma seems content with the prospect of seeing you in your new clothes, or rather the moments you’ll take changing into them. He grabs the hand that is still over his eyes and brings it to his mouth, placing a quick kiss on the skin. Endearment fills your heart until his tongue darts out, briefly trailing over your thumb.

“Ew, don’t do that!” You scold, tugging your hand free and wiping it on his shirt. Karma shoots you a grin before disappearing into the kitchen with a chuckle. You take the opportunity to finally take off your coat and shoes. You debate dressing down to your underwear in advance to surprise your boyfriend, but decide against it as stripping for him will likely grant you more control over the situation. 

Sifting through the bags, you organize your clothes into matching outfits. With two pairs of socks in your hand, you decide on the thigh highs. A sharp whistle brings your attention to the passage that connects the kitchen to the living room. Karma’s eyes stay glued to the clothes in your hands as he strolls towards the coffee table, shoulders nonchalantly drooped as he sets down two glasses of water. 

“If you’re already whistling at my socks, wait until you see the rest…” You bite your lower lip in a childish excitement. Karma gently swipes his index finger along your jaw before settling down on the sofa. 

“It’s not really the socks that do it for me, it’s the thought of taking them off you.” The unexpected honesty of his response manages to bring out the pink in your cheeks. No matter how well you think you know him, he is always prepared to catch you off guard. You lean down to flick his forehead. 

“What? Don’t tell me that embarrasses you?” Karma’s tone is teasing and it does nothing to cool down the heat radiating from your face. You scoff and cross your arms over each other out of habit, avoiding eye contact. “That is probably the most innocent thing I’ve ever said about you. I could have been way more descriptive in the things I want to do to you, but apparently even socks make you flustered.”

“Stop it!” You whine, finding it unbearable how easily he can make you feel uncomfortable, especially when he’s being so smug about it. You squint your eyes at him and swipe the first bag from the table. You take it with you as you walk around the coffee table, standing opposite of Karma. 

Then you finally make eye contact, your hands moving slowly down your front until they reach the hem of your shirt. Karma keeps his eyes trained on yours, but when you start to lift your shirt you catch his gaze flitting down to the thin strip of skin that is exposed. Your hands pull the fabric up higher, revealing your stomach to him. Little love bites litter your skin, some a faded red, some fresh and angry in colour. 

Self-consciousness creeps up your neck in a trail of goosebumps, but the way Karma swallows dryly at the sight of you undressing fuels your confidence. His eyes are now unashamedly roaming over every inch of your exposed body, his pupils dilated and his breathing paced just slightly faster than normal. 

The hem of your shirt reaches your bra and you pull the fabric at an excruciatingly slow pace, the gentle swell of your breasts finally there for Karma to lay his eyes upon. Your chest rises lightly as you take in a deep breath. With so much skin revealed you pull your shirt off all the way, dropping it on the floor with a flick of your wrist. 

Karma’s tongue peeks out to trail over his lower lip, his eyes moving back to yours. There is no smile on his face, but it is clear he is enjoying your show. Your hands move to your jeans, fidgeting with the button before running down the zipper. The seriousness on Karma’s expression sparks something in you, the urge to demonstrate your control. 

You peel the jeans down your legs, carefully stepping out of them and kicking them aside to rest with your shirt. Clad in only your underwear, you twist your upper body slightly to accentuate the curvature of your hips. You feel attractive, your body hot as you find a way to make your vulnerability work to your advantage. 

Leaning down to reach into the bag, you make sure to give Karma the perfect view of your cleavage. His eyes are glued to your figure as if in trance and you don’t think you’ve ever heard Karma this quiet. With the first outfit grasped tightly in your hand you straighten your back. Karma makes a small disgruntled noise at the realization that soon your skin will be shielded from his stare again. 

First is a black denim skirt. You step into the article and pull it up your calves. The fabric slides over your hips, closing in around your waist again. You fumble with the buttons and manage to do the first two up without much of a hassle, despite your obvious excitement. The last button, however, seems trickier as the loop is small in size. 

As you try again you hear the cushions of the couch rustle. When you spare Karma a glance he is standing at the end of the coffee table. “Come here.” He commands with a rasp in his voice. You obey, strutting around the table as you take care to walk with an air of sensuality. Karma takes the opportunity to commit the way your hips sway to his memory. 

Two large hands reach for your waist, pulling you in. One of them slides around to the waistband of the skirt. It takes him no effort to slide the last button through the loop, the fabric hugging your hips as it’s pulled taught around your figure. You’re about to thank Karma, but a rough squeeze to your ass causes the words to die on your tongue. You reach behind you, swatting the offending digits from your skin.   
“Ah? Who said you could touch?” There is a playfulness to your voice, giddiness from finally taking charge. “I thought I said you could watch, so sit down and keep your hands to yourself.” Your voice is unwavering, full of confidence. 

You accentuate your words by placing your hands on Karma’s shoulders and pushing down in a less than gentle manner. Karma doesn’t reply, opting to quirk an eyebrow at you instead. Although Karma hates not being in control, he obeys, sinking back into the cushions as he lets you have your way. He seems to tolerate your dominance for now, perhaps due to the fact he could overpower you at any given moment, but he doesn’t feel the need. 

He is intrigued even, impressed by your show of authority. His eyes still hold that telltale predatory gaze, he doesn’t feel threatened by your actions, yet there is a certain enjoyment behind his eyes. He obediently awaits your next move with interest. You think for a moment, hands still on his shoulders. Then you nudge his legs slightly apart, not failing to notice the strain on his pants. 

You place your left leg between his, making yourself comfortable on just one of his thighs. The skirt you’re wearing hikes up your legs to accommodate the new position. Warm hands encapsulate your hips to help you stabilize. You allow it, for now. Leaning forward, you capture Karma’s lips in an open-mouthed kiss. 

As you slip your tongue into his mouth, one of the hands on your hips starts to wander. Trailing up your spine his burning fingers reach the clasp of your bra. Before he can do anything your break off the kiss and shove on his upper arm, the hand forced to fall from your body. “I didn’t give you permission to touch yet, did I?” you ask, almost belittling. It is unlike you to revel in the control, but you can’t deny the rush of adrenaline that comes with subservience from someone as untamable as Karma.

You trace down his biceps to his wrists, placing them awkwardly besides his legs. “Don’t move them until I say so.” You warn, leaning close so your breath hits his face. You squeeze his wrists before releasing them, trusting Karma in his subjugation. 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself now, baby.” He responds, the smile on his face almost mocking, yet he doesn’t move his hands. “Do I need to remind you’re only in control because I’m letting you?” A growl leaves your throat at that and you’re quick to connect your mouths again, biting at his bottom lip. 

Suddenly, Karma flexes the muscles of his thigh, causing a moan to spill from your lips as the thin fabric of your panties does nothing to lessen the friction. You hiss and sit up straight, delivering a harsh smack to his chest. To your frustration, Karma pushes his leg up, causing your lower body to rub against the fabric of his pants. “You shouldn’t have done that.” His eyes are squinted dangerously. 

Finally, his hands move from their passive state on the couch to your hips again. This time he forces your body down, grinding you into his thigh. The pressure causes a throbbing sensation between your legs and you suppress the urge to cry out. Not wanting to give in, you grimace and lower your head to the crook of Karma’s neck, biting down softly. You want to regain the control you had, recalling the drunken state of power, but the pleasure he’s causing has your thoughts all over the place. 

One hand releases its bruising grip on your hips and before you know it your feel the clasp of your bra coming undone. The article hangs loosely against your skin, being held up only by the straps on your shoulders and Karma is quick to brush them down your arms. The fabric is quickly discarded, chest exposed to the cool air. 

His hand moves to cup one of your breasts, fingertips making soft indents in the supple flesh. When his palm brushes against your nipple you feel heat start to pool in your stomach. Carelessly, you let a noise escape your lips. Karma catches is and groans in response, his pants suddenly uncomfortably tight. 

Caught up in the feeling of Karma’s leg pressing into you, a surprised yelp is forced from your throat as the world tilts. You find yourself with your back pressed into the cushions of the sofa, Karma hovering over you with one of his legs inbetween yours, pressing his knee into your heat. The skirt is flipped up around your waist and your underwear is exposed to him, a wet patch starting to form. 

Karma shuffles down your body, trailing open-mouthed kisses down your stomach until he reaches the bunched-up fabric of your skirt. Strong hands wrap around your thighs as he nestles comfortably between them. He lowers his head, lips connecting to the skin of your upper leg. It’s soft, sensual and you shudder. 

One of the hands slides up, coming dangerously close to your underwear. His index finger trails along the edge where the fabric meets the soft fat of your thigh. Gently, Karma bites down on your skin, the sensation causes you to gasp sharply. Briefly, he lifts his head, staring at you expectantly. “If you want me to stop, you should say it now, because once I get started I don’t know if I can.” The muscles in your stomach twitch involuntarily at his warning. 

With the way he is making you feel, asking Karma to stop is the last thing on your mind. “Please, touch me.” You plead, your voice containing an edge of desperation. The wild craze that appears in Karma’s eyes at your words shoots straight to inbetween your legs. An excited smile reveals his bright teeth before he slides the hand toying with the fabric of your underwear upwards until his fingers are splayed out on your lower stomach. 

Karma leans down again, placing a kiss just above the waistband of your panties. Then he moves further, his nose trailing over the thin fabric. You suck in a breath though gritted teeth as he reaches your clit, hands grasping at the cushions you’re laying on. He nuzzles his face into you, tongue darting out to swipe over your clothed slit. Sparks fly up your body as you arch your back into the air, the hand on your stomach pressing down to keep you in place. 

“Sensitive?” Karma mumbles teasingly against your pussy, the vibrations of his voice doing wonders to your arousal. The hand gripping your thigh moves up, fingers hooking into your underwear, slowly sliding them down your legs. Embarrassment creeps up your face as your most private part is on display for him. You bite down on your bottom lip as the piece of clothing is pulled down your ankles. Feeling exposed with just your skirt bunched up around your waist you reach for Karma’s shirt, tugging on the hem. 

Karma takes the hint, pulling the shirt over his head and discarding it on the floor next to your clothes. Flashing you a hungry smile, he bends down again, wasting no time in continuing where he left off. With one hand returning to grip your thigh he pulls your legs further apart, blowing hot air on your pussy. Your legs twitch in response and another moan bubbles up in the back of your throat. 

He trails his middle finger up your lips, the slick that has collected there coating the digit. He lifts the finger to his mouth, catching your lidded gaze as he licks it clean. You don’t try to suppress the whine that the sight causes you. Returning his hand to between your legs, he starts rubbing circles into your clit with his thumb. “Fuck, that feels good.” Involuntarily you buck your hips and his free hand is quick to press down on your stomach again. 

Soon the thumb is replaced with his tongue, fingers moving down to spread you open for him. He pushes one of his fingers into your entrance, your walls immediately clenching down on the intrusion. Moans tumble from your lips as he starts to thrust his finger inside you. “Ah, Karma-“ Your voice is cut off by his tongue expertly rubbing at your clit. “Don’t stop, please don’t stop!”

Your voice is raw as you can’t stop yourself from calling out his name. Another finger is shoved inside and all you can feel is Karma. You’re hyperaware of everything he is doing to your body as the tension in your stomach grows stronger. His fingers make scissoring motions as he stretches you out, lewd sounds filling the air as he moves inside you. Tears start to brim at the corner of your eyes and you’re not sure how much more you can handle.

“I’m- I’m close.” You manage to whisper as you shut your eyes. Karma’s pace increases as he groans against your clit, lips closing around the button as he sucks. Pleasure builds and you move your hands to grasp at his hair, trying to push him closer. You open your eyes and the sight of Karma between your legs makes your whole body tense up. 

“Come on, cum for me baby.” Karma whispers. His teeth graze over your clit and you lose control of the incoherent mumbles that fall from your lips. When he gently bites down you feel like you’re going to burst. Your eyes shut tight as you see stars. Your back arches up and you cry out as your toes curl. Heat flushes your body as Karma continues to work his tongue against your pussy while your orgasm washes over you. 

Finally, he pulls his fingers out from your body, strands of sticky liquid connected to his digits. Your body is still trembling as you lay under him, catching your breath. Karma wipes his fingers on your thigh before coming up to capture your lips in a sweet kiss. 

“How about we take a bath together? Get you cleaned up.” Karma wipes the sweat from your forehead as his loving gaze trails over your body. Fingers trace over the fresh bruises on your thighs and hips.

“I’d like that.” You tell him, voice small as exhaustion hits you. “Next time, let me make you feel good?” Karma chuckles, pressing another kiss to your lips.

“Look at you, already talking about a next time. If I had known you were this eager, I would have done this a long time ago.” You shield your face in embarrassment. You can’t help it; Karma is too charming. One of his hands comes to hook under your knees, the other around your back as you’re lifted into the air. You nuzzle your face into Karma’s chest, luckily he’s strong, you don’t think you would’ve made it to the bathroom on your own with your legs still feeling like jelly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't going to upload due to a lot of deadlines regarding school assignments coming up, but people kept on commenting, even when I was temporarily inactive and it just motivates me to write so much! So, finally the next step in the relationship. I don't really like writing the actual smut that much, my favorite part is actually the build up, but I'd feel terrible if I just kept on teasing you guys ;)  
This felt like a natural moment in the series.


	19. Suffocating

The kitchen is filled with a comfortable silence, save for the occasional sound of your spoon hitting the ceramic bowl in front of you. You’re still a bit groggy from waking up, but the sight of your boyfriend eating his cereal with red tufts of hair sticking out in every direction imaginable makes you forget about how tired you feel. 

The sunlight that manages to filter through the blinds casts horizontal stripes of light onto Karma’s slightly tan skin. With his head slightly tilted, he shoves another spoonful of breakfast into his mouth, one of his eyes catching the light. He squints and ducks a little further to avoid the bright rays. Once he catches up to the lack of noise from your spoon hitting the bowl, he raises his head, staring at you. “What?” he asks, voice muffled through his full mouth. You roll your eyes at his lack of manners, biting the inside of your cheek. 

“Nothing. You just look very…,” you pause, raking your mind for a term to describe the warm feeling seeing him brings you. “…ethereal.” Is what you decide on. Karma snorts, but from the way he squints his nose you can tell he’s amused, a little elated even. “It’s because of the light, don’t get ahead of yourself.” You scold, not necessarily aiming to contribute anymore grow to his ego. 

“But you have to admit I’m otherworldly.” Karma quips, leaning back into his chair, hands clasping together, letting them rest on the cool surface of the kitchen table. This time it’s you who snorts at his words. You take another look at him. The light he basks in does cast quite an unnatural looking glow onto his features. To you, he looks absolutely breathtaking. You often wonder how you got so lucky.   
“Yeah, you’re right. Did it hurt?” you ask him. Karma scrunches up a brow in confusion before he catches up with the pickup line. You can’t blame him, you’re not usually one for throwing cheesy lines his way.

“What? When I fell from heaven?” The grin on his face stretches from ear to ear as he plays along to your little act, leaning forward so you can get a better look at his face. 

“No, when you broke through Earth’s surface as you crawled out of hell, you demon!” You’re almost screaming the end of your sentence as you get lost in your own amusement. It’s a silly joke, one you’ve seen used on the internet hundreds of times, but it brings you a priceless amount of joy as Karma’s blank face processes your words. At first he seems a little irritated, but when you use the back of your hand to swipe at the tears forming in your eyes, he can’t help but laugh along as well, shaking his head. 

“You idiot. Why do I still put up with-“ Karma is cut off by the loud ringtone of your phone. You grab the device from the table. “Who is it?” your boyfriend wants to know before you can accept the call. You take a look at the caller ID. It’s Asano. For a brief moment you consider lying and it is at that point that you realize two things.

One. Karma is incredibly intelligent, he’ll have figured out the truth in an instance. Two. You shouldn’t even be considering lying to your boyfriend. You shouldn’t be scared to tell him the truth as there is nothing to hide.

“It’s Asano.” You admit, avoiding Karma’s eyes against the dying curiosity to his reaction. Before he can say anything you pick up and greet Asano in a cheery voice. One quick glance at Karma shows the irritation bubbling up in his mind. His shoulders are tense, arms crossed diligently over one another as he mouths a ‘hang up’ in your direction. You ignore him, turning around in your chair as you continue your conversation with Asano. Uneasy gnaws at you as Karma impatiently taps his foot against the floor, occasionally clearing his throat in an attempt to attract your attention. To appease your own conscience you keep it short, hanging up only a few minutes into the call. 

You place the phone back onto the table and, without making eye contact with the boy in front of you, stir you cereal around before lifting up another mouthful. Karma doesn’t stop the tapping of his foot and the rhythm makes you feel nervous. “Can you stop that?” You ask.

“What did he want?” Karma is blunt in his response but places his foot firmly back on the ground. You look up, catching his agitated gaze and you suddenly feel very small. No, this is ridiculous. You need to get a hold of yourself.

“He wanted to hang out. I declined because we’re spending the day together.” Karma straight up scoffs. Both of his hands raise into the air until they come to hover questionably next to his face, palms in your direction.

“So all this time he has bullied you and now you’re suddenly so buddy-buddy he wants to hang out? Come on! He’s lying to your face! Why can’t you see that?” Karma slams his fists down on the table. Instead of feeling intimidated, anger starts to rise up in the back of your throat.

“Why can’t you see he’s trying to make up for all the horrible things he’s done?! You’re just jealous. Get over yourself!” You slam your hands down too, showing him two can play at that game. “I don’t get why you get so worked up over him! I’m dating you, not Asano.”

At that, Karma raises one of his brows. The angry expression on his face drops, but the menacing smile it makes room for isn’t any better. “Oh really? Lately, it almost seems like you are.” You freeze up. Is he seriously going there? “In fact, I’d say you’ve been avoiding me. You’re trying to distance yourself from me.”

“That’s not tr-“ You don’t get to finish as Karma raises his voice, shouting over you.

“First you cancel plans on me. Then you go and hang out with our friends, without me. And to top it off you’re now besties with fucking Asano! Really seems like you’re not interested in me anymore. Even after all the effort I’ve put into our relationship.” You feel a cold hand wrench around your heart, squeezing until only emptiness and hurt are left. 

“I can’t believe you just said that!” You shout back, not caring if you’ll wake up the neighbors. “We already talked about this! I hung out with the girls because it’s tradition. No other boys were invited and it was nothing personal against you! You know what? You’re right, I have been distancing myself from you. Do you want to know why?” Karma is quiet for once. He just stares at you, waiting for you to continue.

You relax back in the chair, uncurling your hands which you’d unconsciously balled up into fists. A deep breath manages to calm down your rapidly beating heart, if only a little. “We’re always together. We never talk to other people anymore. It’s been weeks since I’ve hung out with anyone not including you. I want to see my friends too. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to see you anymore, I just don’t want to distance myself from everyone else. Do you see where I’m coming from?”

Karma continues his silent protest. He shifts around, adjusting his posture until he’s sitting up a little straighter. His expression is serious and it looks like he’s internally debating something. Again, your eyes get pulled to the mesmerizing way the light is filtered through the blinds. He looks soft, very touchable, but this time you’re more cautious of the false sense of innocence. Funny how just a few minutes ago you were admiring Karma’s beauty on a serene morning, but now you’re arguing again. 

“I get what you mean, but I just don’t think it’s as important as you make it out to be. You want to spend more time apart? Okay, you should’ve just said so.” You bite your lip, holding back snide comments about how often you’ve tried to tell him. It’s almost as if he doesn’t realize how obvious his ignorance is, but you figure he just doesn’t care. There’s no one to correct him besides you, no other witness to the exasperation of his disillusions. “If you really don’t want my company as much we can always take a break. Split up.”

You’re shocked. He’s presenting you an ultimatum; him or your friends. Again, your fists ball up, nails pressing crescent moons into the skin of your palms. Karma is strangely calm, there is no readable emotion on his face. Maybe, if you squint your eyes, you can detect the littlest hint of smugness. 

“I don’t want that. I love you, I really do. Please just try to understand! I want to spend time with you and also with my other friends.” You’re exasperated, desperate even. Karma doesn’t look concerned and an unsettling feeling nestles itself in your stomach, feeding on your growing suspicions. You’re reminded of the previous times you’ve fought. For some reason the topic of taking a break from each other comes up more often than it should. It’s funny how you’re the one who wants more time apart, but every time Karma brings it up it is you who feels to hurt to actually go through with it. 

You don’t want to let go of the relationship the two of you have. Karma means a lot to you, more than you can probably explain to him, but sometimes he’s just too much. “Sometimes I just feel a little suffocated.” You explain. “I want to be with you, but the time we spend together is only going to be more special if we also appreciate the moments we’re not.”

For a moment it is quiet, the tension still strong in the air as you look at Karma. Slowly, he releases the tension in his muscles, dropping his shoulders and moving his hands to rest in his lap. He looks contemplative, a little sad maybe. A pang of guilt tugs at your heartstrings and you reach one of your hands forwards with a small smile.

Karma raises one of his hands, lacing his fingers through yours. “I’m only doing it to protect you, you know.” The volume of his voice is back to normal again and you don’t feel any resentment seeping into his words any longer. “I admit that I’m a little obsessed with you and maybe we should spend some more time with other people. Ah, I haven’t hung out with Nagisa in a while either. There’s a lot of bullying I need to catch up to.” Your heart melts a little at the way the corner of his mouth tugs upwards just slightly.

“Let’s not fight anymore. I hate it when we do.” You say, softly squeezing Karma’s hand before letting go. You stand up, the chair scraping against the floor as it’s moved backwards. You walk around the table, approaching Karma with a fond smile. As the anger has finally dissipated from the air you can appreciate the beauty of the morning again. You pull out the chair next to Karma, but he reaches for your arm, pulling you into his lap. 

You let him do so as you make yourself comfortable, wrapping one of his arms around yourself and leaning your face into his neck. You inhale, his scent filling your nose as the familiarity of it all compensates the unease from before. 

“Yeah, me too. There’s just one more thing though. I don’t want you around Asano anymore.” You can’t say you’re surprised. You close your eyes, debating whether another fight is worth it.   
“He’s still my tutor.” You feel the arm around you tighten and you tense up for a second. Looking up at Karma’s face that nervousness disappears like snow in front of the sun. His eyes are full of understanding and you figure he’s just as tired of arguing as you are.

“I know, but you only have to see him once a week right?” You hum in response, closing your eyes again. Karma seems content with this as he presses a quick kiss to the tip of your nose. Then another one to your cheek, then one to your other cheek. You giggle as you let him pamper you. “I am imposing a rule. No more talking about Asano. Every time you mention his name I will steal you away from everyone else and I get to have you all to myself for another evening.”

The possessiveness in his voice is outweighed by the playfulness and you lean into his embrace, indulging in his jealousy a little. “Hmm, that doesn’t sound too bad actually.”

“Oh, really? Are you sure you want to test me like that?” There is a dangerous glint in his eyes, but the obvious amusement causes a sudden rush of boldness to run through your body. 

“You know, he even proposed to have an extra lesson next week. I might just agree…” You trail off, biting your lip in excitement as you wait for Karma to react. He quirks a brow and suddenly you’re weightless. He holds you up in his arms and you quickly thread your fingers into his shirt as you cling on for support. 

“Okay, that’s it!” Karma shouts, you’re relieved to see the familiar smug smile has returned to his features. He walks over to the couch in the living room, dropping you into the cushions before carelessly letting himself fall on top of your body.

“No! You’re crushing me!” Karma chuckles at your shriek. “Ah, get off, you’re too heavy!” You thrash around half-heartedly, enjoying the warmth of Karma’s body. Once you’re done putting up a feigned fight, you lean up to peck his lips. The moment you lean your head back into the pillows you’re greeted by a toothy grin, before Karma swoops down to connect your lips.

“You taste like milk.” Karma notices. 

“How romantic.” You roll your eyes, but the smile cracking at your lips reveals how much you’re secretly enjoying this. 

“Don’t worry, babe. Even with milk breath, you’re still ethereal to me.” Embarrassed, you reach for the closest pillow and smack Karma in the face.

“Just shut up and kiss me again, before the urge to smother you becomes too strong.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really want to write something for Asano soon. I have ideas for writing a short spin-off, that's to say I'll base his character and his relationship with the reader off the way I've written him in this story so far. However, I also have ideas for something short where Asano isn't a bully for once. I don't mind either way, so if you have a preference don't hesitate to let me know!


	20. Awkward silence

Class is as boring as ever. Every minute feels like an hour and you’ve tried to find entertainment in every last one of your school supplies. Unfortunately, you’re all out of freshly cut eraser pieces to chuck at unsuspecting targets. Your backpack rests against one of the table legs and you bend down to reach for its contents. You feel around for a few seconds before your fingertips softly knock against your phone’s cover.

Lifting your head slightly you take a quick glance at Miss Bitch. Although her desk faces the class her attention is focused on the sharpening of her recently manicured fingernails. If she grows them out a little more she could use them as a murder weapon, you reckon. Suddenly she throws her head up, blonde waves bouncing with the motion as she catches your gaze.

Stunned, your eyes widen for a split second before rapidly forcing a smile onto your face. Miss Bitch, likely having felt your stare, squints her eyes for a full three seconds before replicating your smile. It looks friendly and you immediately understand why she’s able to wind men around her finger only moments after meeting them. It is easy to forget she’s a successful assassin when she acts like a ditzy schoolgirl around Mister Karasuma, but you don’t doubt she’s earned her title as a professional.

The genuine emotion causes the tension in your shoulders to dissipate, the smile on your own face growing warmer, no longer forced. Ever since you started dating Karma you’ve been performing a lot better in Miss Bitch’s classes, it is safe to say she has even taken a liking to you. Now that you’re more confident in your sensuality you’re actually taking her teachings in the art of seduction seriously. 

Miss Bitch drops her head, her nails receiving her undivided attention once again. You pull out the phone from your back and inconspicuously slide your pencil case further to the front of your desk, obscuring the phone from your teacher’s view. The little light in the corner blinks and you quickly unlock your home screen.

Scrolling through your unseen messages, you’re not surprised to see Asano’s name pop op. Upon opening the message Karma turns to look at you. A chill creeps up your spine, it is as if the guy has a radar for potential trouble. You sneakily slide your hand next to the phone so he can’t see the contact at the top of your screen. You wink at him and put on a pretty smile. Internally it concerns you that this façade costs more effort than faking a smile at Miss Bitch, but you try not to show your worries as you return your focus to your phone.

Luckily, Karma turns back around to finish his exercises. Finally clear of suspicion, you read Asano’s invitation to hang out after school. You had scheduled a day off for yourself, not bothering to make plans with anyone, but you guess Asano could be an exception. He’s been trying to be a good friend, listening carefully to your stories, remembering details and showing genuine interest. You’re exceptionally happy that he’s opened his heart to you. He can still come off as rude and judgmental at times, but you’re sure he just needs some more practice. 

You text him back an eager yes and ask him where the two of you should meet. Once you’ve sent him your affirmation you take the last minutes of class to scroll mindlessly through your socials. When the bell finally rings you shove every last item on your desk into your backpack and shove your chair backwards. You’re already on your way to the building’s entrance when a hand lands on your shoulder.

“Hey, wait up!” Karma laughs. You turn around to face him and he relaxes, resting his back against the wall. “What are you in such a hurry for? Trying to escape from me, aren’t you?” He looks so casual standing there, his leaning figure still effortlessly tall, a gentle smile plastered on his face, interest in his eyes. You shake your head, not responding verbally as you take in the sight before you. “Wanna come over?” he asks.

“Oh,” you start. “I can’t, I already have plans, sorry babe. How does tomorrow sound?” You try. Unfortunately the gentle smile on Karma’s face falters as his brow furrows. He turns his head to glance in the direction of your English classroom. Some of your classmates are walking through the door and Karma quickly grabs your hand at the sight. He starts walking towards the entrance, pulling you after him. 

Together you leave the building, starting down the trail to the train station. “What kind of plans? I thought you just wanted to relax today. I can be quiet, just hang out in silence, you know. Or I could give you a massage, that would definitely relax you. No funny business, I swear. It’s gonna be all about you.” The promise of his words is enticing and if you hadn’t already agreed to Asano’s invitation you’re sure Karma would have been able to sweet talk you into spending the afternoon with him in luxury. 

“Oh, you know you can’t just offer me a massage, I’m a sucker for those!” You take a step closer to Karma. The path is narrow and overgrown and barely fits two people walking next to each other. You grab onto his arm, leaning into his warmth underneath the cool shade of the trees. For an instant you feel at ease, taking deep breath of the crisp outside air as you enjoy the green scenery surrounding you. The moment is short lived as Karma questions your silence. “So? Is that a yes or a no?”

“I am actually meeting up with someone else…” You trail off, silently debating whether evading the dreaded confession is going to do you any good. “With Asano.” You decide to just get it over with. Karma stops in his tracks, yanking his arm away from yours. He takes a step back and straightens his posture. Funnily enough you feel more suffocated when he’s not smothering you into his side. 

“Asano? Really? Wow, okay.” He crosses his arms over each other, his lips pulled into a thin line and you take the opportunity to explain yourself. You put your hands on your hips, prepared to stand your ground.

“Yeah. We went over this already and I’m tired of fighting about it. I’m going to hang out with him as friends, nothing else, and you can’t change my mind. It’s my decision and I’d appreciate it if you’d respect that.” Karma’s nose is scrunched up in disappointment and it’s evident he’s holding back a lot of anger and irritation. 

“First he texts you excessively, then he has the nerve to call you for hours on end and now he needs to take up what little time is left? What’s next, marriage?” He scoffs as he gestures with his hands. 

“I just said we’re going to hang out as friends. That doesn’t make me like you any less. But you know what does make me like you a lot less? Your jealousy. You want me to only spend time with you and even when I do meet up with anyone else you try to monitor me like a child. That’s not healthy and your expectations of me aren’t either. I can’t do this.” You throw your hands up into the air, hanging your head in exasperation of having to go through this yet again. 

“Oh, YOU can’t do this?” Karma’s eyes are filled with disbelief, his voice dripping with arrogant entitlement. “Clearly you’re saying this in a pathetic attempt to hide the fact that you don’t want to put as much effort into our relationship as I do.” A direct jab at your heart.

“You’re living in your own world. You’re delusional if you think you’re the only one contributing to us.” You try to keep your irritation under control, but Karma manages to irk you in ways you didn’t think he could. 

“You know what?” he spits. Leaning over to look down on you, one eyebrow lifted. “If you can’t do this anymore, maybe it’s better to just split up.” You stare at Karma, keeping your ground as you cross your arms over each other. You don’t respond for a second, a scorn on your features as that cocky smirk pulls at the corner of his lips. The one that tells you he doesn’t take you seriously, underestimates you. 

“You know what?” You mock. “I think you’re right.” You watch as the smile on his face drops and you have to suppress one of your own at your little victory. “It’s probably for the best. We’ve been fighting a lot recently.” Karma’s mouth opens slightly in disbelief and for a second he’s lost for words.

“You don’t mean that.” It’s just short of stammering and never before have you seen the redhead’s confidence falter like this. “I didn’t mean it.” He tries to fix his mistake when you don’t give in. His eyes are filled with regret and it tugs at your heartstrings, but you put on a brave face. Karma’s been suggesting a break from the two of you whenever you’re arguing lately. At first you thought it was just an impulse of uncontrolled anger in the heat of the moment, but of late you’ve started to suspect there’s more to it.

Karma can get angry, furious, but he doesn’t get like that with you. He’s better at controlling it when he’s with you and he used to not let his anger get the better of him. He’s a professional at suppressing feelings and hiding all of his emotions behind a blank face or tiny smile. It is not a secret that he uses that to his advantage when he makes use of his manipulative nature. He’s controlling, he’s always been controlling. There might be a connection between his sudden shows of childish outbursts and his excellent knowledge of figuring out the gears in someone else’s head. 

“Then you shouldn’t have proposed it. I did mean it, by the way. You’ve made me realize we might not be working out the way I had in mind when we started dating. I’ve already explained my reasoning before and if you still can’t respect my boundaries and relationships with others I think it would be best if we spent some time apart. I love you, but this is not how I want to be with you, I’m sorry.” You let out a breath and drop your shoulders. 

You wait for Karma to respond, but he just stands there, motionlessly. He stares at you, a mix of emotions on his face. You think it is unexpected failure that shows most clearly, but you’ve never been that good at figuring out his true intentions. “Do you not have anything to say to that?” You try to prompt him to break his silence.

Nothing happens. Slowly the emotions on his face start to dissipate until only disinterest stays behind. He shrugs his shoulders and starts walking. You look at his form as he passes you, brushing your shoulder unnecessarily bluntly in the process. A voice in your head screams at you to call him out on it, but you don’t. You watch as he picks up his pace, never once casting a glance over his shoulder as he grows smaller and smaller. 

You touch the back of your hand to your face, swiping at your watery eyes before you can break down. Shakily, you catch your breath. Full realization that you just broke up with the boyfriend you’re head over heels in love with hasn’t dawned on you yet. You throw your head back as you feel a heaviness settle in. Looking back there is only greenery as none of your classmates hiking down the trail have caught up yet. 

Quickly, you continue down the path through the thicket so you won’t have to face anyone. With all the emotions swimming through your head, you’re unsure as to whether you can make it to the train station without any waterworks starting to flow. Maybe it is better to cancel your plans for today and just take a long, hot shower as you wash off all the guilt and bitterness. 

As if on cue, your phone starts to ring. You slide the backpack off your shoulders and rummage around to look for your phone. In your rickety state you don’t even look at the caller ID before picking up the call. 

“Hey!” Asano’s voice rings out from the speakers. Of course. Of course it’s him. Who else would call at such an unfortunate time? 

“Hey.” You respond, not as enthusiastically. The distressed sound of your own voice shocks you and you quickly try to recover. “What’s up?” This time it’s more cheery, but you don’t want to overdo it. Asano doesn’t seem to pick up on your wavering. 

“According to your schedule you should be out of class by now, right? Oh, that really makes me sound like a stalker. I have access to all schedules, perk of being the principal’s son, I guess.” It is not much, but his carefree attitude and worries about making a wrong impression bring some warmth back into your heart and you chuckle softly. “I’m waiting at the bottom of the mountain trail, class ended a while ago. How long will you be?”

You’re surprised to hear Asano’s putting so much effort into this friendship. Bitterly, you think to yourself that the more Karma gets on your nerves, the more Asano worms his way into your heart. You don’t think you can ever mend your relationship to anything beyond a friendship, but as long as both of you are content with that, you’re more than happy to spend time together. “Give me ten minutes, I’ll be quick. I’m already halfway there.”

“Okay, see you in ten minutes then.” Asano greets. You move the phone away from your face, finger hovering over the end call button, but a quick thought to express your feelings causes you to procrastinate. You press the phone back to the side of your face.

“By the way, thanks for waiting on me. And for calling me.” Your words are followed by a silence and for a moment you’re afraid it’s too clingy. Then Asano breathes out a soft laugh and your worry disappears like snow in front of the sun.

“You don’t have to thank me for that. If you take too long I’ll be gone when you arrive.” His tone is joking and you laugh along with him. You greet him, for real this time, and slip the phone into the pocket of your jacket. The walk to the end of the trail flies by and you aren’t left alone to wallow in self pity as you spot a mop of red hair through the brambles. 

When you walk into his line of vision he holds up a hand with a casual smile. You haven’t had many opportunities to see him with a genuine smile, one that is not born from malice, and admittedly it looks rather pleasant on his features. Asano is handsome. He has a gentle face when he isn’t wearing a scorn. You hope you’ll get to see him like this more often.   
“I hope you aren’t tired from that walk, because I thought we could take a little walk.” It is common knowledge around your school that Asano is athletic, so you shouldn’t be surprised at his suggestion. However, even though you’ve been mending your relationship, Asano will always have that little villain role when you envision him, and something as innocent as going for a walk doesn’t fit an evil agenda. Hopefully, in the future that last grain of doubt will be gone and you can see him in a completely different light. 

“Don’t worry, I love walking.” You assure him. Asano turns around and takes a few steps. Once he sees you’re not following he stops and looks over his shoulder, a questioning look on his face. You smile sheepishly and quickly catch up, walking behind him. A small part of you had expected him to take your hand, like Karma would do even before you were dating. 

You trail behind Asano like a puppy, still catching up. Asano doesn’t slow down and you almost have to jog to earn your place next to him. Once you’re at his side, he slows his pace and you can comfortably stroll along. “So…” you start. “How was your day?”

Asano shrugs. “Okay, I guess. The same as always, pretty much. I guess class A is quite boring.” You try to express your sympathy, but class A was always far from boring for you, though not necessarily in a positive way. 

“Oh… That sucks. I hope tomorrow will be more fun.” Asano hums in agreement, but doesn’t add anything. A few seconds pass as you walk in awkward silence. You fiddle with your hands as you fight to find something to catch his interest. “Our class was pretty boring too.” You try. “But I’m happy we get to hang out now.” This time Asano doesn’t even spare you a hum. 

Your shoes start to feel heavy and you start to question whether this was such a good idea after all. The silence returns and you don’t try to prompt anymore conversation. You’ve gotten good at talking about mindless things on the phone, but the real deal is proving a lot more challenging. 

“So, what did you-“ You nervously attempt a third time, but Asano interrupts you. 

“What did you say to Karma?” his voice is cold and you’re taken aback.

“What?” 

“I said, what did you say to Karma? He didn’t even insult me when he came out from over there.” Asano motions towards the direction you came from with his fist, using his thumb to point lazily. 

“Oh.” You don’t know if you want to talk about that right now, but maybe Asano can be the distraction you need. “I broke up with him.” You say it so casually, like it doesn’t threaten your voice to break at any moment, like there are no tears ready to streak your face. There is an incredulous look on Asano’s face, then for a split second a smile bares his teeth, but it is gone as soon as it appeared. You don’t have the energy to question him.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Disingenuity drips from his voice as he doesn’t even bother to hide his excitement. “I don’t want to sound like a dick, but maybe it’s better this way.” You want to defend Karma, but then you realize you broke up with him and there is no reason to try and make him look good in front of Asano, so you just cock your head to the side in an undistinguishable answer. 

You look away, rubbing your arm just to have something else to focus on. Asano mistakenly picks up on it as a chill and takes off his coat. He holds it out to you and it takes you a moment to realize his intentions. You’re stumped. You can’t figure this guy out. One moment he’s ignoring you, walking so fast he seems intent on abandoning you, and the next he’s offering you the only thing that keeps him warm underneath the shade of the trees. 

You’re not that cold, all the walking has caused you to work up quite a sweat, but you don’t want to act ungrateful when Asano shows you such chivalry. With feigned appreciation you accept and slip your arms through the sleeves as Asano assists you by holding the coat up. Once it’s on you turn around to face the redhead. He reaches down to grab the ends of the coat and aligns the zipper. To your misfortune he pulls the zipper up all the way. 

“I have a scarf in my back if you want it.” He offers. You quickly decline, mumbling back the coat is perfect. Asano resumes walking and the moment he’s a full step ahead of you your hands reach for the zipper, trying to slide it down a couple centimeters without attracting any attention. 

“That’s not really what I would call a boring day, though.” Asano quips. You shrug your shoulders, ready to drop the subject. Luckily the hint is clear and he asks about your plans for the weekend instead. You were supposed to hang out with Karma, but you guess you can take the time to finally have a do-nothing-day and unwind. 

Talking about your plans for the weekend makes for an easy segue into more small talk and the awkward tension is finally dropped once the two of you reach the park. There are a few other people, but they’re scattered throughout the park as clouds start to gather up in the sky. It takes a few minutes until Asano decides on a secluded spot off the trail where he sits down. He pats the grass next to him and you sit down cross-legged. 

“This is a nice spot.” You muse, hands resting behind you as you lean back, letting one of the remaining rays of sun kiss your face. You close your eyes as you hear Asano rustle through his bag. When the noises stop you crack open one eye, peering through your lashes. He takes a swig of what you assume to be water from a blue bottle. 

“It’s okay I guess. My father used to take me here for extra drills when I didn’t perform up to his standards during my soccer matches.” You feel a bit of anxiety return to your mind. Asano passes you the bottle and you bring it up to your face.

“Well, maybe you can overwrite those memories with new, better ones.” Bottle at your lips, you tilt your head backwards and a rush of sugar hits you. Immediately your screw the cap back onto the drink and roll it over to Asano through the grass. “What the hell is that?” There is a look of disdain on your face as you reach for your own bottle.

Asano laughs at your reaction, although the sound is heartfelt. “Sports drink. It helps me keep alert. I don’t get a lot of sleep when I have to spend every free minute on trying to uphold my reputation.” As if to get his point across he opens the bottle again and gulps it down until it is empty. You shake your head and try to get rid of the overly sweet taste in your mouth. 

“I didn’t picture you as a sugar addict, but I guess it shouldn’t surprise me.” Asano raises a brow as you voice your thoughts out loud. 

“Sugar addict? I wouldn’t necessarily say that. Sports drink addict? Okay, I can give you that.” He doesn’t fight your accusation and you feel enough at ease to laugh along with him. Heaviness no longer weighs down oppressively on your shoulders and the atmosphere is friendly. “Did you really hate it that bad?” Asano gestures towards the empty drink.   
You scoff. “Oh yes. But to be honest, it’s a lot better than, let’s say, an alcohol addiction.” Asano rolls his eyes, but you don’t feel threatened. 

“Yeah, I can’t really afford something like that. Besides, alcohol is not a good look on me.” Thinking back to the one time you were forced to confront a drunk Asano you wholeheartedly agree. You shake your head softly, you’ve come a long way since that evening. It feels like an eternity ago. 

“Me neither.” Your voice is quiet, not wanting to make this about yourself. Fortunately, Asano acknowledges your comment with a gentle smile before laying down in the grass, hands crossed underneath his head. His eyes are closed and you take the opportunity to scan his figure. He is lean, no doubt from all the exercise his father forces on him, but his face is soft as he rests, his fiery fair framing his face with a few locks out of place.

“Like what you see?” Suddenly he’s looking right at you and you have a physical reaction, leaning further back on your arms in surprise. Flirtation is unexpected and you’re unsure of what to say until Asano bursts out in a fit of laughter, leaving you to pout in embarrassment. You take a deep sigh and pray you can keep control of the blush fighting it’s way to the surface of your skin. When the rumble of Asano’s laughter dies down the silence returns, only this time you can enjoy it in comfort. 

“What’s this?” A voice rings out from directly behind you. You quickly twirl your head around to see who the voice belongs to. You’re greeted with the widely grinning face of Ren Sakakibara, one of the Five Virtuosos. “God, you’re sad. Following Asano around like the little bitch you are. Are you that desperate to get-“

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Asano butts in, not giving Ren a shot to finish his jab at your expense. His brows are tightly knitted and there is tension in his jaw. He pushes himself up from the floor, glowering at the newcomer. It is a weird sensation, having Asano stand up for you for once, but it is one you could get used to. “Are you blind? Or deaf? Judging by your idiocy it’s just a lack of braincells.”

“But-“ Ren tries to defend.

“But?” Asano questions sternly. Ren doesn’t answer, clearly awaiting Asano’s next move. “I seriously don’t get why it’s so difficult to read the room. You fucked up the atmosphere, why don’t you try to fix it.” His arms cross over his chest as his upper lip is pulled into a scowl. Ren is tall, but he cowers in front of the redhead. 

“I’m sorry?” he tries carefully. 

“Why would you say that to me? I’m not the one you insulted.” His tone is stern, unforgiving in nature. Ren looks like he’s still trying to figure out what is going on. Slowly his gaze shifts back to where you’re sitting in the grass with wide eyes, watching the spectacle unfold. 

“I uh, I’m sorry.” He says, a hand coming up to comb through his neatly styled hair. There is only confusion to his voice, but you’ll take a half-assed apology over his regular demeanor any time. You stay seated, but manage to shake your head in acceptance at him. You trail your eyes from Ren to Asano, who still has a disapproving look on his face.

“You know, if you were outed as a bully as of this moment it would look really bad on your college applications, don’t you think so?” Asano asks with a feigned pleasantness, head cocked to the side. Ren can only gulp and nod, afraid to mess up in this strange arrangement. For a moment, nothing happens. Then Asano sits back down, far closer to you than he had been before. If he leaned over your knees would undoubtedly touch. You don’t dare to move away, actually feeling safe in his presence for the first time. 

After a few more seconds of awkwardly looking from one person to the other, Ren sits down opposite of you two. He keeps his distance, close enough to talk, but far enough to back down if the situation calls for it. He clears his throat, but doesn’t say anything. You follow his eyes to the spot next to your leg. Suddenly you notice how close Asano’s hand is to your thigh, but it never wanders into unwanted territory. 

“So…” You break the silence, unsure of how hostile the situation could turn if either of the guys is triggered. Again, looks are exchanged and you are not the only awkward person. Asano is no longer trying to bore holes into Ren’s skull, but the look on his face isn’t exactly inviting either. You turn to stare at his face, but he doesn’t meet your gaze. 

“So…” Ren mirrors. “Are you two… dating?” His voice is unnaturally high pitched and he raises his shoulder while he speaks, afraid of asking, but too curious to ignore the obvious tension. You wait for your friend to answer, but he stays silent.

“Uhm no, we were just hanging out.” You clear up. Ren lets out a noise of understanding, but doesn’t seem one hundred percent convinced yet. You get ready to explain the situation, but then Asano’s hand gets into motion. His fingers brush through the grass, his fingertips ghosting along the side of your leg to your knee until it finds your hand resting on your leg. 

His fingers don’t intertwine with yours, all he does is hold it on top of your hand. You don’t know what he’s planning and you don’t want to embarrass him, so you pretend not to acknowledge what is happening. Still, some heat creeps onto your cheeks and you reach for the zipper of your coat to cool down a little bit. Then it hits you that it is not your coat you’re unzipping, but you’re still adorning Asano’s. You can only imagine how this looks to Ren. 

Confused by Asano’s intentions you try to redirect the conversation. You ask Ren about his day and he gives you a vague description of the material Class A went over today. You pretend to be interested and ask questions, but all you can think of is the warm feeling of your hand being covered by Asano’s larger one. 

Time passes by. You have no idea how long it’s been, but it feels like you arrived at this spot in the park an eternity ago. Most of the conversation is forced small talk between you and the brunette as Asano only chimes in occasionally. It is awkward, but at least it is better than the incessant teasing from before. At last Ren stands up from the grass, his hands smoothing over the surface of his pants.

“I have to go, but I’ll see you tomorrow.” The greeting is directed at Asano. “I’ll see you around, I guess?” You can’t say you’re looking forward to spending time with him again, but you smile affirmatively to be polite. He picks up his bag from the ground, slinging it effortlessly over his shoulder, but you can’t shake the clumsy image he has planted in your head. You watch as he disappears through the trees. 

“Finally, I thought he’d never leave.” Asano sounds grumpy. You tilt your head at him in surprise. Asano squeezes your hand before ultimately releasing your hand from the confines of his own. He slumps his shoulders and sighs deeply. “Did you see how quickly he gave up his tormenting? It was going against every last one of his instincts, but just to stay on my good side he gave up. He’s kissing my ass and I hate it.”  
“You do?” You ask. You had expected Asano to revel in the submission of his classmates, but apparently you were wrong. In some ways you liken Asano to Karma. Maybe Karma would have said he likes a challenge, but Asano seems genuinely annoyed with the sycophants. 

“They’re just scared of the strings I can pull. If I weren’t in that position they would have never bothered trying to associate with me. They’re so far up their own asses that they deem everyone else insignificant, a nuisance even.” You bite your lip.

“Not to be rude, but you kinda acted like that until a little while ago too. I know you didn’t mean it, but, you know, you did act like it.” Asano doesn’t scoff. He doesn’t look angry or irritated in any way. There is no outburst, no defense, no nothing. Then a small smile plays at his lips, a rather sad one.

“I know, and I’m not going to deny that. But I’m trying to change. I know what I did and I’m going to own up to it, show you I’m better than that.” You feel grateful at his words. Again, although he may resemble Karma in a lot of his mannerisms, he doesn’t try to shrug of his wrongdoings and cover it up with a rebuttal. Warmth bubbles up inside your stomach as Asano reaches out his hand.

You take it and he pulls you to your feet. On instinct you brace yourself, planting your feet firmly on the ground in case he tries to pull you until you lose your balance, but it doesn’t happen. Instead he gives you a curious look. “Come on, I’ll walk you home, weirdo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah I wasn't sure if I was going to finish this story, but some lovely comments gave me the motivation to continue. I am also really close to the ending, so stopping at this point would be extremely selfish. Originally this chapter was going to be a lot longer, but I've decided to keep the rest of the chapter as a separate chapter. I felt like after the smut the story had reached sort of a natural ending, even though I did already have an actual ending planned. But then I wrote the previous chapter and felt like that was a horrible point to leave off at. I've decided to power through for just a little bit longer and finish this story.
> 
> I do really want to start some other works, but I know that once I do so I will drop my ongoing projects like Deal with the Devil. Once I'm through with this story I want to write something short for Asano and after that move on to other fandoms maybe. I've been really into the game Obey me! recently and there is not enough love for Solomon :'(


	21. Compensating the loneliness

Walking to school is lonely. For the first time in what feels like forever there is no one waiting for you at the train station near school. With you eyes focused on the path up the mountain, your fingers fumble around to adjust the volume of your earbuds. It is loud, but today it is just what you need. 

The music manages to drown out the thoughts of loneliness to some extent, but no matter how tight you wind your scarf around your neck, your body feels cold and heavy. It’s almost like dragging an invisible rope with stones behind you. It is funny, seeing how yesterday you felt like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders. There is no large hand encompassing your frigid fingers. 

You had thought the breakup would provide some relief, some sense of freedom, and for a short moment it had. Now, the weight of the situation is finally sinking in. You’re glad you finally confronted Karma and you’re proud of yourself for being able to choose what is in your best interest instead of trying to please him. No one can take that away from you, but a part of you still feels like you committed a sin. 

Luckily, Asano has been compensation for the gap you feel in your heart. After walking you home yesterday, you had invited him in for a cup of coffee. He had agreed somewhat reluctantly, but after giving him a dejected look he had given in. 

All the two of you had done was chatter about trivial things while sipping your coffees. It had been pleasant, comforting to your sullen state. You were sat on opposite sides of the couch, knees far from touching. He had not made any advances, nothing to cross the boundaries of your finally mending friendship. A deep familiarity had been in the air, but nothing more than that. You had likened him to Karma before, but this was so different. Karma had liked to make you feel uncomfortable and embarrassed from the moment you met, but Asano seemed to have your best interest at heart. 

Afterwards he had left, an awkward interaction at your doorstep as neither of you were certain of a greeting. You had held out one arm fully extended, the other somewhere indistinguishable. Asano had interpreted it as an invitation for a hug. You’d be lying if you said you hadn’t wished for him to hold on just a little longer. 

Unfortunately, the night had been lonely. The emptiness of the other side of your bed had you sleeping uneasily. You’d woken up twice that night. Once to go to the bathroom and once inexplicably. You had also cried. There was just something about lying there on your back, alone, hugging a pillow to your chest, that had compelled you to finally let out the frustrations. It isn’t unnatural to be sad after suffering a breakup, but you don’t want to feel this way. 

When you arrive in class it is just on time. You took a train later than normal, not wanting to be confronted with your now ex-boyfriend. It turns out your worries were all for nothing as he had apparently decided to skip the morning’s lecture. You focus on the old-fashioned chalkboard, never before having showed so much interest in physics. 

Korosensei instructs the class to work in silence and you gratefully take the opportunity to shove the earbuds back into your ears. Music blasting loudly as you actually pay attention to your exorcises for once. Fortunately, the other students leave you alone. No one taps your shoulder, no paper balls crumpled so badly that the writing is unreadable land on your desk, no nothing. Although you haven’t told anyone, it is almost as if everyone knows not to bother you today. 

Class passes too soon for your liking and it is already lunchbreak. You take your time packing up your belongings before retrieving a lunchbox and bottle of water from your bag. With everything in hand you finally stand up, following after your classmates to go eat on the mountainside. It is with a heavy heart that you walk up to your friends, unsure of what to say to them. Maybe you don’t have to tell them. It’s already Friday, surely you can inform your friends of your relationship status over the weekend. 

Your regular clique sits around in a circle, laughing at Sugino who has stabbed a plastic straw into his juice carton a little too eagerly and is now trying to save as much of the drink left as possible. You giggle softly, but upon the sound alerting everyone of your presence the air becomes palpable. Unease is thrown down like a thick blanket and for a moment you’re confused. Then you figure Karma must have told someone about what happened. 

Hoping for a little sympathy, you sit down next to Kayano, who gives you a harrowed smile as she fidgets with her fingers. Feeling just as perturbed, you look around the circle, but the expressions are far from compassionate. You try to fade into the background, sit on standby as you listen to the mindless conversations, but there is only silence as all eyes are on you. 

“So…” You start. “Did Karma tell you guys?” You don’t give any further description, afraid if you’re vague enough you might reveal more than you’re comfortable with to those unaware of your situation. There is no response. Only a heavier silence follows. Quickly, you take a swig of your water, tilting your head back. 

“He didn’t need to.” Maehara replies curtly. There is a certain coldness to his voice and you don’t understand his motivation. You screw the cap back onto your bottle and place it by your side. Still, no conversation is currently in process and you scrape your throat.

“What were you guys talking about?” You try to steer the dialogue, but no actors take part in your play. It is as if everyone is suddenly trying to hide what they were talking about before. Doubt starts to creep into your mind. What did Maehara mean by that? If Karma hadn’t said anything, what could have possibly led to this unusual treatment? 

Slowly Rio leans to the side and whispers something into Isogai’s ear. They don’t laugh, there is just disdain on their faces as they occasionally sneak a glance your way. Isogai purses his lips and then follows Rio when she leans back to respond inaudibly. On your right, Nagisa asks Kayano a question on some homework he didn’t fully understand. Surely, the livelihood of voices returns to the circle, but there is still a carefulness regarding you.

No matter what conversation you try to join, you’re met with short answers and obstinate smiles. Your break is half an hour long, but fifteen minutes is the most you can manage to endure. The silent treatment kills you and although you want to ask what exactly it is they think happened between you and Karma, you feel as if no one would give you a tangible answer.

“I’m going to go for a little walk.” You announce, gathering your lunch in your hands. A few turn their head to look at you, but some can’t even afford to gift you their attention. There is no response and you take it as a sign that you are unwanted at the moment. Maybe a short walk will clear your head. 

Once you’re out of earshot, you reach for the phone in the pocket of your jacket. Scrolling through your contacts, your thumb hovers over Karma’s contact. You cringe at the little heart you had put behind his name, you’ll have to delete that later. Deciding against your plan, you scroll back up all the way to Asano’s name. Feeling a little nervous, you press the call button and press the phone to your ear. 

You keep on walking as the phone rings. One step, two steps, three steps. It doesn’t matter how many steps you count, after thirty steps Asano still hasn’t picked up your call. Feeling disappointed, you slip the phone back into your pocket. Asano’s breaks probably don’t overlap with you own. Should you text him to let him know you just wanted to waste some time? Yet once more, you decide against the plan.

The walk is peaceful and you feel some of the tension subside. Rolling your shoulders, you try to stretch, back still sore from the restless night. In contrast to this morning, the silence is somewhat comforting, the cold air feels refreshing and you breathe in another mouthful of oxygen, holding it before slowly releasing through your nose. 

You’ve come to familiarize with constant companionship to the point where you don’t know what to do when you’re by yourself anymore. Some space was all you wanted, but now that you have it, it seems like you’re unable to be appreciative. Getting frustrated with yourself you debate skipping school, however, you come to the conclusion you left the rest of your belongings in the classroom. 

Sighing deeply, you retrace your steps to the school building. It looks old and uninviting. The walls are damaged, one of the windows has a large crack in its glass and you wonder how you’re supposed to survive class once winter arrives. The greenery is unkept, proliferating ivy crawls up the walls, almost touching the rickety roof seemingly sturdy enough to withstand autumn storms. You wonder how long it’s been since anyone has tended to the backside of the school building. Inside, all of you have been taking care of the classrooms, even caring for a miniature flower garden right outside the entrance. 

You make a mental note to suggest maintenance to Korosensei or Mister Karasuma the next opportunity you get. Maybe it would be fun to give the cracked wooden panels and windowsills a new layer of paint. Flashbacks to the time when your whole class helped out scrubbing down the floors and reorganizing all of your supplies warm your heart and you try to relieve some of the negativity today’s doubt have brought you. 

The afternoon is long and tiring and at the end of the day you feel like your head is ready to explode. You had tried to start up some conversations, but after failing to hold a conversation for more than a couple of minutes you had decided the company of your mind was enough. With a newfound best friend in your earbuds you had made it through Korosensei’s math class. 

Once the bell rang, you were the first to exit the classroom, taking steady steps to stay ahead of everyone else, not ready to face anymore rejection. The pace at which you’re treading down the mountain puts a strain on your legs, but you can’t find the energy to care. In a meager attempt to appreciate the beauty of your surroundings, your hand trails over a particularly shaped leaf, but it doesn’t bring you much joy. 

You feel strange, very unlike yourself. You aren’t angry, you don’t feel any urge to rip out your hair and call Karma to shout expletives at him. However, you also don’t find any delight in the things you used to enjoy. Suddenly, the walk from the train station to your house is irksome, even stopping to pet the neighbor’s cat for a moment is not fulfilling. Loneliness and oppression is all that weighs you down, but you don’t admit to it. 

Once inside you go straight to your room. You’re not in the mood to greet your family. The backpack is slung from your shoulder and you plummet face first into the plush material of your blanket. Fatigue seeps into your bones and you want to cry, only no tears form. The familiar scent of your pillow is consoling and you inhale deeply. On a strange plateau of contentment you drift off to sleep. 

When you groggily open one of your eyes, darkness greets you through a sliver in the curtains. Funny, you don’t remember closing them. Maybe you just forgot to open them when you woke op this morning. Sitting up, you rub your stiff shoulders, soothing the muscles with a heavy hand. 

You reach for your phone and upon unlocking the screen you see it is nine o’clock already. You’re usually not one to take naps like this and you don’t know what to do. It is too early to go back to sleep, but it is too late for dinner. Your stomach rumbles upon the thought, but you don’t exactly feel hungry. Opening your call log, you see a missed call from Asano. It is not untimely, but you don’t think Asano is the one you need right now.

Thinking for a moment, you decide Asano might be the only person you can rely on at this time. There is still an emptiness from losing Karma, but unfortunately your friends haven’t been able to mend the hole. You hadn’t expected a repair, but even a little duct tape would have done the trick. Now, you can’t even pretend you’re alright. After all, there is no one to play pretend with. 

You’re not ready to face Karma yet, but maybe you can fix the situation with your classmates. Rio is the first to come to mind, but you’re afraid of her judgment. Kayano would be a lot softer on you, but then you might not get to know what you did to upset everyone. She sugarcoats her words, having always taken a liking to anything sweet. 

Ultimately, it is Rio you decide to call. It takes only a few seconds before she picks up the phone. “What do you want?” her voice sneers. The contrast to her regular joking tone to the phrase surprised you, even though you should’ve expected it. Once the shock subsides you try to get to the point. 

“Hey Rio, today was really weird.” Rio replies with a disinterested hum. “I just wanted to talk about what happened. You know, try to understand why everyone is acting funny.” You’re afraid you have chosen the wrong words as you’re met with a heavy silence. Then you hear Rio take a deep breath and you can just imagine her pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Oh really? You think we are acting funny? God, someone really needs to hold a mirror to your face.” She is mean. Under any circumstances you would have lovingly called her a grumpy old lady, but any lighthearted conversation dies on your tongue. You swallow thickly and reach for a cup of water on your nightstand. 

“I don’t understand…” You say, almost breathlessly. You’re not lying, you truly don’t understand. Clearly everyone is taking Karma’s side, but you don’t even know what they perceive you as. You do not have an inkling as to what you’re supposed to be arguing against. The cup is lifted to your lips, the water nice and cool to your throat as you sink your back into the reassuring warmth of the pillows. 

“You don’t have to pretend anymore, you’re not going to be with us for long anyway. Why don’t you just cut the crap and take your distance?” At this you tilt your head inquisitively. The mystery is growing and unease starts gnawing at your heart. Apparently everyone in your class knows more about you than you do yourself.

“What are you talking about? I seriously have no clue what you’re going on about and it’s stressing me out!” You exclaim exasperatedly. Why doesn’t she just explain?

“Class E. You’re transferring back to class A.” 

“What?” This is the first you’re hearing about that. “Rio, hold on! What makes you think that? Did someone say that to you?” Again, there is no response for a couple of seconds. Suddenly, you think back to a conversation you had with Asano. He could definitely pull some strings to get you promoted back into class A again, but he wouldn’t do something like that without your permission, right? 

“Your secret is out. You don’t have to associate with us any longer. We all know you’re getting nice and friendly with class A.” Rio sounds hurt and at that moment you realize it is not just you who is taking this hard. Rio is your best friend after all. She must have gotten the information from someone she deems trustworthy. Then something clicks. 

Someone must have seen you at the park yesterday and gotten the wrong idea. Well, not necessarily the wrong idea. There is no denying you were getting pretty close with Asano, but that doesn’t mean you’re transferring to class A. Even if you were, you would have been the first person to get the notice. 

“Just to be clear, I am definitely not planning on transferring out of class E. I love it here. All of my friends are here. This is probably all just a big misunderstanding that someone blew way out of proportion.” You reason. You love class E, you really, really do. You would give anything to go back to the way things were. 

“Shut it!” Rio grumbles. You’re taken aback, but you don’t try to refute her. “We all saw the video.” The video? Solicitude settles in and you inattentively scratch your nails along the back of your hand. 

“What video?”

“You and those assholes at the park.” That was only yesterday, how could word have spread so fast? More and more questions start to fill up your head. Why would someone film you instead of coming up to greet you? It is all very curious and the possibility of malicious intent crosses your mind. What if someone had deliberately followed you, just to record your meeting?

“Who showed you the video?” You inquire, suddenly intent on figuring out this mystery to the tiniest detail. 

“It was Maehara. He received it from a friend, showed us their conversation and the video. It was you, not doubt about it. Poor Karma, it must have been difficult seeing your girlfriend cozy up to your archenemy.” That is strange. She called you his girlfriend.

“Did Karma see the video as well?” You want to know. Rio confirms your suspicions. So Karma had seen the video and not mentioned anything about it to you. Granted that you’re not together anymore, but if he had even a grain of remorse in his body he would have forewarned you. “Karma and I broke up yesterday.” 

“Good for him. I would have too, if my partner had pulled a stunt like that.” She really doesn’t know.

“No, Rio, you don’t understand. We broke up immediately after school. I only went to the park after it happened.” You explain to her.

“Well, well, well. Isn’t that a little too convenient for your story?” Rio is unconvinced. You don’t blame her, the circumstances are quite unusual. You don’t bother to give up just yet, though. If there’s anyone you want back on your side, it is your best friend. 

“Don’t you think something is off here? Maehara randomly receives a video of me at the park right after I break up with my boyfriend. That means he didn’t take it himself. Who was this friend?”

“I don’t know.” She sounds annoyed, as if you accused her of wrongdoing. “He didn’t say.” 

“He didn’t say, or did he not know? Maybe someone is trying to stay anonymous.”

“Could be.” Rio replies. You can practically hear her shrug. 

“Rio, we’ve been friends forever. I know I haven’t been the most attentive in the last couple of weeks, but I really don’t want to lose you! Please, please, please, give me a chance to prove myself to you. I’m going to figure out whoever is trying to mess with me.” Third time’s the charm as Rio keeps to herself. Giving her some time to collect her thoughts, you empty the glass on your nightstand and set it down gently. 

“Okay. That doesn’t mean we’re good yet though. I really miss you, but that doesn’t mean I can excuse the way in which you neglected me. The way in which you neglected all of us.” A little guilt starts to settle in, but the sliver of hope worms its way into your heart. “Just don’t do anything stupid. Text me if you find something. Don’t call, I’m still angry at you.”

A small voice in your head tells you it is not anger that makes her waver, but the fear of not being able to hold back her emotions. You give her a small confirmation and hang up the phone. It is time to get ugly. You need to find whoever is responsible for the video. You’re either looking for someone who doesn’t want to be a snitch or someone who is setting you up.

Sifting through a small list in your mind you take into consideration different friends and enemies. Your classmates are honest and you’re close enough with each of them that they’d want to talk about their problems instead of pulling something as sneaky as this, so you rule out the first option. 

There are a few people who have reason, although unfairly, to set you up. Weighing your options there are two people who come to mind and if you’re being honest, you don’t know if you could force yourself to acknowledge the most likely one as the culprit. 

Ren or one of the other virtuosos could want to get rid of you to save their reputation and get you off of Asano’s mind, but you have your doubts. If they tolerate you, it won’t affect their grades, but it might be seen as a good deed by anyone out of your school situation. 

Logically thinking, there is only one person who could possibly want revenge on you. It is with a heavy heart that you conclude Karma is not above playing dirty, even recalling blackmail as his forte. All fired up, you start mentally preparing yourself for yet another confrontation. It is now nine fifteen, the evening is young and if you take the bus now, you can easily make it to Karma’s within twenty minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope all of you are doing well! I'm very close to the conclusion of the story, but first I really want to write something for Asano. I've been working on my ideas for his characterisation and I feel very inspired. It is nice to write from a different perspective for a change. The wait for the next chapter might be a little longer, so in the mean time keep an eye out for an Asano x Reader (if you're interested of course). 
> 
> I'm still debating whether I want to oneshot Asano's story or if I'll divide it into a few short chapters, if the demand calls for it. Questions and suggestions are always welcome!


	22. Wasabi?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You've had enough. It's time to finally face your problems.

Your fists are clenched tightly, nails pressing into your soft palms as you try to stop yourself from mentally torturing your ex-boyfriend. You don’t condone violence, but God do you want to strike that boy across the face. You had regarded him highly, but apparently he’s not above playing nasty and you’re no exception to that. 

Phone in your hands you scroll to his contact, pressing the edit button to remove the long overdue maroon heart behind his name. Karma is all he deserves, quite literally at the moment. Opening up your messages you start to construct a rather unprofessional text to convey all of the anger built up in your chest. 

You contemplate starting the message with a sarcastic ‘dear Karma’ but ultimately decide against it. You haven’t even given him a chance to explain himself yet. The fact that he might have an actual reason for his behavior causes you to doubt yourself, but no matter what his reasoning could be, it is no excuse for the hurt he’s putting you through. 

In the end you text him a couple curses, enough to temporarily quench your burning thirst for revenge as you arrive at the stop closest to his house. The air is crisp and you pull the collar of your plush jacket up to your chin. Whenever you breathe out, a tiny cloud of condensation flutters up into the night sky. 

The walk to Karma’s house is short and you dial his number on your phone. You’re too close for him to run away if he wanted to, but you figure it would be a little more polite if you announce your arrival to him beforehand. Not that you really care about being polite anymore, especially not after the string of obscenities you just sent his phone, but Karma might be more likely to listen to you this way. Unfortunately he doesn’t answer your call and finally you’re met with his voicemail. 

The lights in Karma’s living room are off and you can barely make out the furniture through the see-through curtains. You peer through the window, a sliver of light scarcely visible from underneath the door to the stairway, someone is at home. You ring the doorbell, listening to the sound echoing throughout the hallway behind the front door. Ten seconds pass, then another ten, and another ten. You ring the doorbell again, pressing the button harshly out of frustration. You wait, but the results are no different. 

Growling, you follow the brick path through the garden until you’re standing outside of the small decorative gate once more. You walk around the house, Karma’s room is on the right side. As suspected, the windowsill is bathed in light, the curtains open. Although the height doesn’t allow you to examine much of the interior, it is clear Karma is at home. Judging from the living room his parents are away on one of their many trips. Good. 

You try calling his phone one more time, but to no avail. The telltale beep sounds in your ear and you immediately push the device back into the depths of your pocket. You look to the ground, foot kicking a pebble in irritation. Then an idea hits you.

Bending down, you collect a handful of the gray pebbles. Straightening your back, you move the pebbles to your left hand, getting ready to throw them with your right. With a pebble in your closed fist, you aim at the lit up window. The tiny stone comes into contact with the bricks right below the windowsill and you have to suppress a grin, finding amusement in such a bizarre situation. If Mister Karasuma had been present he would have surely lectured you on the dangers of having such a poor aim as an assassin. You would have been throwing stones at impossibly tiny targets for hours on end. 

Pelting another pebble at the window, you finally manage to make contact with the glass. Grinning in victory you cross your arms, waiting for a reaction. To your dismay nothing happens. You take the silence as an opportunity to hit the glass with your third pebble, which is a bit larger than the previous ones. The sound is a loud knock and your eyes quickly flit over the window to look for any cracks, praying you didn’t damage the window. 

Finally a silhouette appears in the frame, shoving the curtain to the side so the interior of the room is now fully visible. Karma’s eyes find yours immediately, a look of disdain on his face as he grabs onto the curtain again, pondering whether he should just close it and ignore you. Fortunately he doesn’t, instead his hand reaches for the handle, pushing it down so he can swing the window open. His elbows rest on the sill as he leans forward, chin tilted to look down at you. 

“The fuck do you want?” He says, clearly uninterested in conversation. You clench your fists.

“Come downstairs, we need to talk.” You yell back up. Karma’s back is turned towards the light, his face softly illuminated by the street light, but you manage to make out his lips stretched into a scowl. 

“I think you’ve said enough.” Nails pressing crescent moons into the flesh of your arms crossed over one another, you send a glare upwards. The urge to shout profanities in his direction is overwhelming, but you manage to keep control.

“Please.” You try. For a few seconds nobody moves and you start to think this is as far as you’ll get. However, Karma shift so his hands lay flat against the windowsill, pushing up on his arms and pulling the window closed after his figure. The light stays on and you can only hope as you walk back to the front door.

You lean against the frame, head facing sideways so you can catch a glimpse of the living room through the large window. After half a minute the light turns on and you take two steps back, standing parallel to the door. The sound of a lock rattling breaks the silence and your pulse resonates in the back of your throat, nervousness settling in your stomach. 

Tension rising, the wood creaks open at long last, Karma’s disgruntled figure appearing in the dimly lit hallway. You search for his eyes, he doesn’t avoid the contact, instead he gazes right back with annoyance. His lips are pulled into a thin line, brows slightly furrowed and his arms are crossed tightly over his chest. His tall stature leans forward and you feel a little intimidated, throat suddenly very dry as you swallow thickly. 

Abruptly, the words you had prepared for him disappear from your mind, is this such a good idea after all? Have you really come all this way to create an even deeper gash in the hint of amicability that’s left? You take a good look at the coldness on Karma’s face and decide you’re going through with your original plan.

“Why the fuck would you send that video to Maehara?” You start. At the memory, anger wells up in your chest and the speech you had prepared comes back to you. “No, no. Why would you even follow me in the first place? That’s really weird. It’s sick to take revenge for me breaking up with you. I had every right to do so, after you kept on badmouthing my friend and isolating me from everyone else.” You take one step closer, pausing for a second to take a look at Karma’s face.

There is no remorse in his expression, only exasperation as he listens to you vent. You wait another second, giving him a chance to reply, to defend himself, but he doesn’t. He just stands there, motionlessly. The silence is thick, weighing heavily on the two of you as you try to get some kind of reaction. 

“You know, Rio and the others even warned me, they said they never got to spend time with me anymore and I didn’t listen. I even defended you! God, to think that I was so blind! You were manipulating me to the point of gaslighting! That’s not okay! I always thought you had class, but I was clearly wrong, seeing as you stooped so low. I don’t get it. Were you so angry that you’d try to ruin my friendships and reputation? That’s really crude, even for you. I honestly thought all we needed was a little time apart, just take a breather you know, but now I think our split is permanent. I don’t think I can ever see you as a friend again.”

In your anger you scrunch up your nose, sneering as you finish voicing your thoughts. You want to accusingly jab your finger into Karma’s chest, but you don’t want to give him any excuse to lay his filthy hands on you. You watch as his expression stays icy, inconspicuously his left foot moves backwards and you almost miss the way he leans into the motion. When you catch on you’re quick to take a step forward, body resting against the doorframe, before Karma can step back and shut you out. You gasp at the audacity. “Really? You were just going to shut the door on me?”

“I thought you were done.” Is his curt reply. 

“What?” You jaw could drop to the floor, were it not attached to the rest of your face. “Is that all you have to say?” Angrily you cross your arms tighter to your chest, fists clenched. Every single fiber in your body wants to punch Karma in the face to make him show any emotion. 

“You’ve really become delusion, haven’t you?” He replies calmly. You have to bite your lip to suppress everything you want to scream at him. “It wasn’t me. Come back when you’ve calmed down and want to talk like adults.” You stare incredulously at him. After all you’ve said, after all the trouble you’ve gone through to confront him, this is how he defends himself? You’re ready to murder a bitch. 

Karma takes a step back and you follow him, now fully inside the hallway. You shut the door behind you and lean your back against it. “We can talk now.” You say. Karma sighs deeply, his shoulders moving up in sync with the rising of his chest. He holds the breath for a few seconds before audibly releasing it through his nose.

“Okay. Think about it. We break up, I leave because clearly neither of us is in the mood to be around the other. I went to the junkyard to beat up some shit. What could I possibly gain from following you?” You were never good at pinpointing the telltale signs of his lying face and you don’t know whether you should trust his words now. 

“I don’t know. To take your revenge maybe?” 

“I take revenge on those who have actually wronged me. Although I was angry I wouldn’t do something like that. I’d send you angry voicemails maybe, or burn the things you left at my place, but I would never take revenge by involving others and making it such a public ordeal.” Karma stays composed and you have to admit his reasoning is solid. It is unlike him to share his problems with others, he hates it when other people try to sympathize and give their opinion. 

“The video wasn’t mine. I would keep something like that as blackmail, what good would it do me if everyone has already seen it? I haven’t asked you to do anything, have I?” He’s right. He’s completely right and you hate how easily you trust him. Karma turns around, walking towards the staircase. You stay rested against the door as you cock your head to the side, trying to make sense of everything that has happened. Karma is already a third of the way up the stairs before he turns around. He waits patiently, stretching out his hand and motioning for you to follow him.

You push your back off the cool wood, finding your balance as you saunter after him, feet feeling like lead as the realization sinks in. Your body is on autopilot as you climb the familiar steps, mind buzzing as your resolve is crumbling. In his room, Karma sits down on his plush king sized bed. Unsure of what he expects you to do, you roll out the chair from underneath his desk and take a seat opposite of him. 

“Do you promise it wasn’t you?” You ask, voice hoarse. Up until this moment you were convinced it was him who shot the video. Karma raises his head, tilting his face up to look at you. His expression is serious, his usual attitude momentarily forgotten.

“I promise.” Would he really go that far? You suppose there’s no point in lying to you now, unless he suspects you’re recording everything, but both of you know that’s too uncharacteristic. You breathe in deeply, heart still torn. You want to believe him, you really do, but that would mean there’s someone else who took the video and you don’t want to believe that.

Or rather, you don’t want to admit it. You’re disappointed in yourself. Karma’s gaze is still on you as you touch a hand to your shoulder. Shame creeps onto your face in the form of a faint blush, head heavy as you lean your elbow on the armrest of the chair. 

“Okay. I believe you.” You finally admit with a small voice. You don’t look him in the eye though, afraid of mockery, of a victorious Cheshire grin. “I guess a part of me just wanted it to be you, as harsh as it may sound. That way I’d lose only one friend.” Your eyes are focused on the fabric of your sweater at which you’re absentmindedly picking with your fingernails. The room smells like Karma, not his cologne, just Karma. 

After a while of silence you gather the courage to lift your head, finding Karma’s gaze still focused on your figure slumped over in his chair. Immediately, you straighten your back, the joints cracking in protest as you finally feel how tired you are. Karma doesn’t seem angry, you notice. Probably because he’s glad you’ve come to terms with the reality. 

“You know, I think I knew you were right all along. It was too good to be true, I just wanted to believe in Asano so bad. It’s actually not unlike him to go out of his way to fuck me up like this and I just refused anything you had to say about him like an idiot. I’m sorry.” When Karma gives you an uncharacteristically gentle smile, the sadness settles in. You don’t cry, you’ve already cried enough, but the forgiveness of the gesture tugs at your heartstrings. 

“Honestly, I’m a little offended you’d trust someone who has been bullying you for over a year over someone who has been your friend all this time.” There is no mockery, even these words are spoken with a careful softness, so very unlike Karma. He opens his arms and you quickly avert your eyes again, pretending not to have seen the invitation. You’re not sure if you’re ready to make amends just yet. 

“I’m just surprised Asano would actually go that far. He’d have to have had someone else follow us and shoot a video. It just seems like so much effort to go through, although looking back at what he said he hated in me was how I always seemed to pick friendships over my reputation. So it kind of makes sense. Still… to actually act nice towards me for weeks just to crush my feelings once he’s gained my trust. It sucks. It absolutely sucks. I’m going to murder that son of a bitch!” Your shoulders rise unconsciously in your frustration and you stand up, your body too tense to keep sitting down. Your sadness has turned into fury and you pace around the room, the sound of your footsteps echoing throughout the space as you avoid the carelessly discarded clothes on the floor. 

“Hey.” Karma responds, his tone still reasonable. “I know it sucks, but you should look at it this way. Asano has taught you that extracting revenge takes careful planning. If you murder him right now it will be over all too soon, your victory will be short lived and he won’t learn much from it. I mean, I’d beat him up if you asked me to without a doubt, I’d enjoy it even. But heed your own advice.” Once again, you find yourself admitting the redhead is right in his ways. 

You turn on your heels, strutting back to the bed and plunking down next to Karma. You miscalculate the distance and rudely bump into him in doing so, resulting in a look of disbelief. In your shock you don’t know how to reply, but then you feel a giggle bubble up in the back of your throat and soon the two of you are laughing at the stupidity of the situation. 

You throw your head back, letting your weight pull you down as your back sinks into the soft covers. The mattress dips as Karma follows, lying down next to you. Your hands are close and for a moment you lose yourself, grabbing onto his as you intertwine your fingers. The warmth is welcome and you rub your thumb in circles over his calloused skin. 

For the first time the silence is comfortable, the two of you simply enjoy each other’s presence. Then Karma rolls over to lean on his side, propped up on one of his elbows as he looks down at you. “I’m sorry too.” He says softly. Your eyes squint in surprise. Karma is apologizing to you? Slowly the frown morphs into a smile and you hum appreciatively. 

“If you need help coming up with a plan to take revenge on that asshole, I have quite a few tricks up my sleeve. I could even… you know…” a dramatic pause, “tutor you…” he trails off. You roll your eyes at his suggestion, but at the same time you feel a bit of the icy wall between the two of you melt down. You’ve missed Karma. Even though you only broke up a day ago, you feel like he hasn’t been the guy you fell for in weeks. Finally, that person is surfacing again. 

“That sounds kind of fun, but I expect you’ll demand a payment again?” You’re quick to catch on, you know how his games work. Karma hums in approval.

“Of course, but more details on that later. Do you want my help?” You snort.

“I do, but I also want to know what you’ll make me do once I agree! You’re evil, you know, I don’t trust you enough to agree blindly.” Karma feigns an offended gasp, bringing his hand to clench at his shirt directly over his heart. You breathe out a laugh through your nose. 

“I’ll help you with your revenge plan if… you agree to start up our combat training again. Not that I need it, but I think you do, I’ll help you out of the good in my heart, like charity.” At this you can’t stop the laugh that escapes your lips. The pretentiousness of his words coupled with the high and mighty attitude, the seriousness of his expression. It’s pure chaos. At your outburst Karma allows himself to join in on your joy and once again the only sound in the room is the rambunctious laughter. 

“I think you just miss me.” You manage to reply through the tears. “But okay, I accept.”

“Oh honey, you should have read the terms and conditions…” The signature half smile is plastered on Karma’s handsome face, his warm breath washes over your face as he leans closer to tell you of all the horrible things you’ve actually agreed to. 

“By the way. Maybe you shouldn’t check your phone for a little while. I, uh, may have sent you some… words.” You admit. All Karma does is snigger.

“Oh, don’t worry, I already saw. Why do you think I refused to answer your calls earlier? You know, I was quite impressed with the creativity in your insults. There’s a reason I asked you to do my English homework for me.”

Two months pass and it looks like the drama in your life is finally coming to a close. Luckily your friends were willing to listen to your explanation, especially with Karma vouching for you. Every Friday is spent with the girls in your class, this time without anyone keeping track of how much time you spent with who. You haven’t spoken to Asano ever since you made up with Karma. 

“Wasabi? No, absolutely not! That’s way too violent and also, everyone would know it was you! No one else is crazy enough to squirt wasabi up someone else’s nose!” You laugh at the absurdity, but a small part of you is worried for the mental state of the redhead. 

“Hey, come on! Crazy? Crazy effective, you mean!” There is a deranged glint in his wild mercury eyes as Karma encircles you. In your defensive stance you track his body carefully with your eyes, ready to react to any sudden attacks. You shake your head, but the small smile cracking at the corner of your lips doesn’t fade. Karma leaps to the side and you’re quick to swipe your leg at him. Too slow. You miss him by a hair.

“Too bad, babe. It’s almost as if you don’t want to knock me on my back. Which is understandable seeing as you’re such a bottom, but still, can you really not keep your horny thoughts to yourself while we’re sparring? I’d rather not be subjected to your sexualization like I’m just an object.” You audibly gasp at the complaint, a sad smile on Karma’s face as he takes on the victim role.

“Oh, I’m going to beat your ass!” 

“See? Talking about my ass not even a second after I ask you to stop looking at me like a piece of meat! Absolutely disgusting.” He manages to keep a straight face for exactly two seconds before erupting loudly into a burst of laughter. Immediately you take advantage and give a harsh shove to his shoulders, effectively pushing him over. Karma catches himself, but slumps to the ground anyway. 

You drop down, sitting on his waist as he tries to catch his breath. Your arms are crossed over your chest, a slight grin stretching your lips as your tongue darts out. “What was that?” You lean your face closer to his. “We’ve only been back together for two weeks and you’ve woken me up for a booty call… how many times again?” Karma doesn’t reply and the two of you enjoy each other’s comfort in silence. 

One of your hands moves to thread its fingers through soft red locks in affection. Your eyes meet Karma’s, his pupils dilated as you lean down to press a soft kiss to his lips. He smells like a mixture of coffee and an earthy shampoo. You disconnect to move your face so you can inhale the familiar scent of his hair.

Suddenly two strong hands settle on your waist, fingers pressing lovingly into the skin where they had left passionate bruises only hours ago. “Weirdo.” Karma whispers in a smile. His weight shifts and you let him lower you to the ground as he flips your positions. “Don’t think you’ll get away with that so easily.” 

His mouth is back on yours within a second, goosebumps travelling up your skin as you find comfort in the heaviness of his weight pressing your back into the grass. Even after all this time he manages to send electricity down your body with each kiss. You open your mouth to deepen the kiss and it doesn’t take long for Karma to slip his tongue between your parted lips. 

Way too soon he leans back up, face hovering above yours as he admires your features, tracing your jaw with his thumb. You smile up at his handsome face, eyes flitting from one light freckle to another.

“Hey girlfriend, wanna stay over tonight? I’m afraid there is a lot more I still have to tutor you in. We could… work on your discipline for example.” The perverted grin on Karma’s face is full of affection and you feel warmth creeping from your toes to the top of your head. 

“Hey boyfriend, I’d love nothing more.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, what a ride. As far as plot goes the story is finished. I'm really happy I finally wrote an ending to this story that I've stretched out way too long! I'm really sorry to all of those who commented how nice it was that Asano was changing for the better, but I had a good evil laugh at your expense. I don't want to officially close the story just yet, because I feel like I owe you guys one last chapter of nsfw, but I will add that chapter when the time feels right.
> 
> For now, thank you all for taking the time to read my story! I appreciate reading your comments so so so much, it makes writing very rewarding. It's been over a year since I started this story and it feels like it's been much shorter. For anyone who is interested, I recently published a one shot for Asano, it's on my profile under my works. Once again, thank you and until next time!


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